Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
I'm getting sad now...it was one thing to finish writing this story but to finish posting it is way different! This is my longest story ever and I'm happy that I ended up finishing it. I hope you all enjoyed it. This is the last chapter so thanks for reading and please review!
Chapter 39: An Ending and a Beginning
It was on a cool and breezy October day that most of the Hogwarts students found themselves in Hogsmeade for the first time that year. As it was almost Halloween, pumpkins were set in windows of homes and stores, some leering and some smiling pleasantly down at the passersby.
The Marauders and their friends walked down the cobbled streets. James and Lily were walking off to the side, holding hands and laughing at various pumpkins together. Sirius was in a heated debate with Harry about Quidditch, with Ron butting in occasionally.
"No, no, no," Sirius was arguing, "absolutely not! The Chudley Cannons will never win the World Cup. Ever!"
"They'll have their day!" Harry said adamantly. "Maybe not this year, maybe not even in twenty. But, someday, they will definitely win."
"You are out of mind. Completely bonkers!" Sirius cried. "Delusional. I fell slightly sorry for you, really."
"You wanna bet? When they win, I will make sure to track you down wherever you are and get my money. That is a promise."
"Oh, okay, I'll have someone remind me to set some money aside for you in my will. I'll write: This money goes to Harry Morris, for when the Chudley Cannons win the World Cup. Too bad he'll never get it."
Jenna and Remus, who were walking hand-in-hand nearby, laughed.
"Hilarious," Harry said dryly. "But I will get that money. Because they'll win."
Sirius shook his head.
"Like I said before," he said. "Totally psychotic."
"Okay, okay, enough Quidditch talk," Ylan suddenly chimed in. "Let's go get a drink or something. I'm bored out of my skull."
The group turned towards the Three Broomsticks.
"Yo!" Sirius called, noticing James and Lily weren't following. "Mr. and Mrs. Prongs!"
James turned his head.
"Huh?" he called.
"We're going to the Three Broomsticks? You coming or what?"
"Oh, yeah." They followed their friends inside, where everyone sat down at a booth near the door and ordered Butterbeers.
They were talking and having a good time when the door jingled and opened. Severus Snape walked in. He paused for a second with a hostile glance at James. It was rather surprising that one quick look could be filled with such loathing. The whole group glared at Snape.
"All right, Snivelly?" Sirius said. He noticed something flicker in James' face and regretted having said anything. He didn't want another fight. He didn't have to worry, however; Snape didn't stick around. He let his eyes rest on Lily's for a moment and then continued up to the bar.
"I hate him," James muttered, taking a sip of his drink and making sure not to look at Lily. She stayed silent. The entire booth was rather solemn now, no one really daring to speak after seeing the dark look that had settled on James' face. Then, they heard Harry mutter something. Snape's hair was suddenly a vivid mix of pink and sparkly lime green. Snape remained oblivious to this fact as he pulled the door open and, with one last sneer in the Marauders' general direction, left the pub.
Ron and Hermione burst out laughing first, followed quickly by everyone else. James seemed to lighten up at this and gave Harry a small but appreciative smile.
They finished off their drinks and left as well.
"Look at this," Jenna breathed to Hermione as they were standing in Dervish and Banges a little while later. She was pointing to a silver instrument filled with holes and emitting multicolored sparks and smoke from each one. "I wonder what it is?"
Hermione shrugged and gazed at the shelf, looking at each object with interest. The boys were having a bubble war with some other kind of instrument and she made sure to steer clear of them as she moved around the store.
Sirius was in the middle of blocking a rather poisonous looking bubble thrown at him by Remus when the door opened.
"Hey!" he cried, when he saw who it was. Unfortunately, this interfered with his bubble-blocking ability and his face burst out in boils as he was hit directly in the eye. Mr. Dervish hurried over, muttering, to clear Sirius' face as the other guys burst into laughter. Finally, with his skin clear but his eye still red, Sirius made his way over to Holly.
"Hey," she said bemusedly.
"Sorry about – hey shut the hell up!" Sirius shouted, turning to his friends. This made them laugh harder. James was on the floor and trying, in vain, to get himself back up.
Holly couldn't suppress a grin.
"Wanna get out of here?" Sirius asked her.
"Sure," she said, still grinning.
"Stop that! It wasn't funny," he pouted. She shoved him playfully and they began making their way to the door. However, everyone in the shop suddenly heard several bangs that had nothing to do with the instruments in the store. They were followed by more and then someone screamed.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around.
"What's going on?" Ylan wondered.
"Dunno," Harry said, moving towards the door. He looked out the windows, trying to see something. Then he stepped outside. The group watched as a yellow jet of light flew past his head. He managed to duck and scrambled back inside, a horrified look on his face.
"What's going on?" Lily asked.
"Death Eaters."
Mr. Dervish yelped.
"Death Eaters?" he exclaimed. "In Hogsmeade?" Harry nodded.
"They're coming up this street – they saw me go in here."
"So? Maybe they won't come in if we hide," Peter said.
"Peter, they saw Harry come in," said Ron, for the first time speaking directly to Peter. "Of course they're coming in here."
"Well, who knows why they're here?" Jenna said. "It's not like they're after Harry or anything."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances.
"Yeah," answered Hermione. "No, you're right, of course. But they might anyway."
"Look, I don't think we have much time to debate this," Remus reasoned. "It doesn't matter if they're coming in here or not. What we need to do is get an owl to the Ministry and go out there. A lot of Hogwarts kids are here – and we're the oldest. We have to help everyone."
"You're right," Lily said. "Mr. Dervish, do you have an owl?"
"Y – Yes, of course," he stammered. "Let me j – just go and get it."
"While he sends the letter, let's wait behind here," Holly said, pointing at the counter. The group crouched down behind it and peered discretely out from the sides. They could see a group of Death Eaters now walking up the street, right past the store.
"Told you," Peter hissed. The Death Eaters were gone from sight now, and Mr. Dervish was back.
"It doesn't matter," James said, straightening up. "Remus is right: we need to go out there."
Screams and cries filled the air now. The streets of Hogsmeade were filled with battling students and shop keepers against the Death Eaters. Hogwarts teachers were showing up but it would still be a while before Dumbledore even got the message of what was going on – apparently he was at a Wizengamot hearing.
Night time was falling. The older students and adults were battling furiously to keep the younger kids safe. However, they were outnumbered.
Remus had dodged a Killing Curse only to be hit with a Stunning Spell cast by a student with bad aim. Ylan was unconscious but nobody knew what had happened. Though it wasn't very long, the battle seemed like it was going on for hours.
Aurors were now arriving and the Death Eaters were being pushed back. However, the battle was still going. As James Stunned someone he noticed three figures out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione running away.
"Lily. Look at them. They're running away!" he said.
"James, it doesn't matter. Watch out!" Lily shouted. James ducked a spell and tore off after Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Lily called after him but he didn't answer. She had no choice but to follow.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" James screamed furiously at the three but, over the screams and cries in the background, Lily could barely even hear him.
"James, we should go back, just leave them!"
"No, Lily, they're seventh years too! They should be here to fight! Even if they are cowards!" After everything everyone else was putting into the battle, James couldn't believe that these three were just running away. He continued after them.
The trio finally stopped at the edge of a forest. It was much quieter here and the sounds from Hogsmeade were barely audible anymore.
James and Lily stopped, panting. Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't look like they were running away – they seemed to be doing something else.
"Come here," James whispered, pulling Lily behind a tree. They could just see the trio. Hermione was looking around to see if they had been followed while pulling something out of her robes. Ron seemed to be restraining Harry.
"Let me go, Ron! Let me GO!" Harry roared. "I just want to say goodbye to my parents – I'll be right back, let me just say goodbye!" He wrenched himself from Ron's grasp.
"Harry, stop!" Ron called after him, but he didn't listen. He was running, unknowingly, right at Lily and James.
Hermione had her wand out now. With a flash of light, Harry stopped still, as if he had hit a brick wall. The spell was blocking him from going forward.
"Harry, please!" Hermione pleaded. "You know you can't go back. What if you get killed?"
"I won't!" Harry shouted at her, still not moving. "The battle's almost over, I just want to –"
"HARRY! No! You know what will happen if you talk to them! You'll ruin everything. Harry, please. Please, come here."
Harry didn't move. And suddenly, he had changed. His hair had gone from neat and blond to messy and jet black. Like James'. Ron was now looking at Harry through brown eyes, under a canopy of flaming red hair.
"The charms are wearing off," Hermione said, pushing back her now brown and bushy hair. "Harry, we have to go. You knew the rules," she added quietly.
Harry nodded. He had been looking at the ground, only a few feet from Lily and James, with a furious expression. Now he looked up and Lily found herself staring straight into her own widened eyes. She heard a gasp by her ear and knew James had seen them too. Harry's eyes…just like Lily's.
Ron and Hermione remained oblivious to the fact that Lily and James were there. They were both grabbing on to a Muggle pen now. Their thumbs were placed on the top and it was starting to glow slightly blue.
"Harry, come on!" Ron called. Harry turned around reluctantly and walked back towards them. As the glow intensified he looked back over his shoulder again. Lily and James were still watching.
"HARRY!" Hermione called desperately as the pen began vibrating. With one last look at Lily and James, Harry finally grabbed on to the pen. He, Ron, and Hermione all pressed down on the top at the same time. A bright light seemed to erupt from the pen, momentarily blinding Lily and James. When their vision cleared, they left their hiding spot and looked around. The clearing was empty. No Harry, Ron, nor Hermione. All they could see was the dark of the forest in front of them; the only sounds were the crickets, and the shouts in the distance.
Nobody ever found out what had happened to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But Lily and James felt they had a pretty good guess.
"Hello, Harry," Lily Potter said, years later, looking down at the small bundle in her arms. James was at the side of her bed, beaming. "Welcome to our world."