Aftermath Chapter 23 Epilogue
Author's Note – This is the final chapter in this series. Thank you so much for all who read it, especially those who gave reviews. I had fun writing it and I hope you had fun reading it. Thanks again.
And so Harry became a professor at Hogwarts. It was only for one year, but he did a grand job, and taught many students things they needed to know. He struggled a bit at first, but soon found his footing and was well liked by all students, especially since he rarely gave out punishments of any sort. Hermione also did very well, at being both a teacher and a student. She tried her best to enforce discipline, but gave it up as a lost cause after the first month when she made more enemies than friends. Ron finally told her to just concentrate on her studies and her Muggle Studies lessons and forget about discipline and Hermione quickly dropped the hard nosed attitude.
Ginny and Harry managed to find some time to be together, despite Harry's crazy schedule and the restrictions placed on them. The Invisibility Cloak came in handy for these nocturnal adventures, as did the Marauders Map. They had a few close calls and once Filch almost caught them, but the year passed without too much drama. Ron, on the other hand, missed Hermione so much he tried to sneak into Hogwarts through one of the old tunnels that led to Hogsmeade and did get caught by Filch. The corridor was dark and before Filch could see his face, Ron froze him like a log and then beat a hasty retreat. Hermione gave him a thorough tongue lashing for that but later Harry found out she told Ginny she thought it was sweet of Ron to try.
Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup that year, beating the other houses by a wide margin. Captain Jones of the Hollyhead Harpies came for the last game and watched as Ginny scored 16 goals. Jones promptly offered Ginny a tryout with the Harpies and all were ecstatic when Ginny made the team. All that is except Mrs. Weasley, since being a professional Quidditch player was not exactly what she had in mind for her only daughter. Ginny stayed with the team for just three seasons, and decided to end her career after one too many Bludgers came a bit too close to knocking her permanently senseless. She became a sports writer for the Daily Prophet and wrote about the Quidditch league for several more years.
All of Harry's friends did well on their N.E.W.T. exams, with Hermione coming out at the top of the class. She was offered many positions at the Ministry of Magic but decided to take the summer of 1999 off to travel a bit with her parents and spend more time with Ron. Neville also did well, and was offered a post at a magical plant and herb greenhouse in Wales. He stayed there for many years until Professor Sprout decided to retire and selected Neville as her replacement.
Ron didn't do so well on his N.E.W.T. exams much to the displeasure of his mother and his girlfriend. He spent so much time at the shop that he barely had time to study. He only received one N.E.W.T. in Defense Against the Dark Arts and probably wouldn't have passed that if Harry hadn't spent some time getting him ready. But Ron really didn't care for all that anyway, since he found success in another venue. Ron's shop in Hogsmeade did a smashing business, with the Joke Howler being one of the best sellers. After the first month he had so much gold he finally had to go to Gringotts and apologize to the goblins. They accepted his apology, opened an account for him, and soon Ron was finally able to enjoy the life of financial success he had long dreamed of.
Harry finally managed to get a magical architecture firm to look over the house in Godric's Hollow and they confirmed that the building was a total loss. Too much weather damage over the last 17 years, they said. Harry went to Gringotts, got an update on his account, and after much hemming and hawing and discussions with Ginny and her parents, Harry decided to build a small, modest house on the property. He hired a Muggle firm, since gold was still exchanging at a high rate which helped Harry save money. It took the firm a little over a month to complete the work in the summer of 1999, and of course Harry had electricity and a telephone installed. Despite his new digs, he still spent time at Grimmauld Place, since his Auror training wasn't complete.
Auror training wasn't too brutal while Harry was a professor at Hogwarts. It was winter so he and Charlie George spent a lot of time indoors, doing book work and practicing spells. Harry got much better at non-verbal spells. Hermione also managed to teach him how to cast a talking Patronus. To no one's surprise Harry managed to complete his Auror training in just two years. After all that hard work, there wasn't really much to do. Dark wizards were very few now, and most of the time the Aurors were involved in dealing with Azkaban prisoners, guarding the Minister and other officials, and doing raids on houses suspected of keeping dangerous magical artefacts.
To no one's surprise Delores Jane Umbridge was found guilty of collaboration with the Death Eaters. She received only six months in Azkaban, the light sentence a result of her long service to the Ministry, the many friends she still had there, and the fact that she had not actually physically harmed anyone. Of course, Harry knew otherwise, as did many a student at Hogwarts who recalled painful detention sessions with Professor Umbridge.
Harry and the others were a bit miffed that Umbridge would not be serving her term with the Dementors. Kingsley finally ordered them away from Azkaban. There was a big uprorar over this decision, with many wondering how they could be protected from the many dark wizards inside Azkaban. Kingsley assured them that without wands, the prisoners were very unlikely to escape, and if they did so it was a very long swim to the mainland.
Kingsley gave the order to the Dementors' leaders and they naturally resisted. They made threats about swooping down on Muggle cities and sucking then life out of unsuspecting Muggles. Kingsley promised them there would be a war if such a thing occurred and the Dementors would be sent to the remotest corners of the world where they would have no human despair to feed on. Still the Dementors refused to leave Azkaban. Harry, Charlie George, Lucy, and twenty other Aurors flew out to Azkaban on a dark moonless night and used their Patronus charms to scatter the Dementors to the four winds. They didn't attack Muggles as they had threatened, probably fearing that Kingsley would make good on his promise to go to war with them. What became of the Dementors, no one knew for sure, but whenever times were tough or a disaster occurred, Harry was sure some Dementors were around, sucking life out of human despair.
Inside Azkaban, a surge of joy filled even the meanest dark wizard's heart as they saw the Dementors scattering. Cries of thank you and bless you poured forth from the prison's barred windows. Kingsley went inside and spoke to the prisoners, promising to bring back the Dementors if just one prisoner tried to escape. Harry and the Aurors stayed out there for several days until a troop of wizards from the Ministry arrived to begin duties as guards.
The summer of 1999 the book on the defeat of Voldemort came out. Harry had worked with the historian Hamish McNeil as much as he could, mostly being interviewed in Hogsmeade at the Three Broomsticks whenever he had a moment to spare for McNeil. The author also interviewed Ron and Hermione at length and many other people connected to the story. The book was a smash success and sold out its first printing of 1000 books in less than a week. McNeil made sure to mention that the trio had given no information on their doings in Gringotts and that his information came from an anonymous source. When the goblins read the book they were quite mad about some of the internal secrets of their workings being revealed. They asked Harry, Ron, and Hermione to submit to a truth potion. The three readily agreed and got Professor Slughorn to make it for them. After twenty minutes of questioning them, the goblins were satisfied that the trio had not said a word about their adventures in the bank's underground recesses.
Towards the end of 1998 Mrs. Weasley attended the dinner for Witch Weekly's witch of the month winners. She did not win witch of the year, but had a grand time and said it was good to be with so many witches her own age for a change. Most of the witches were middle aged and their children had all grown up and many were quite bored with their lives. The witches promptly decided to form a club of witch of the month members and from then on Mrs. Weasley was quite busy with club activities. She was also quite busy when spring came, as Bill and Fleur's baby was born in early May.
The years went by and all was well with everyone. One day a few years later, when Harry was a full-fledged Auror and Ginny was in her second year as a reporter, Harry asked her to marry him. It wasn't planned, it just came out of the blue one Saturday morning while they lay in each others arms in bed in his new home in Godric's Hollow. The conversation started with one of those maddening questions women sometimes ask men to which there is really no safe answer.
"When did you know you loved me?" she asked and Harry immediately felt a sense of panic.
"Ah…don't know really…ah…"
She sat up and looked at him. "You don't know?"
"Well, it…just sort of happened. I can't think of any one particular moment. I mean… well, what about you. When did you know you loved me?" It was always good to turn the tables on them when cornered, Harry thought.
"When you killed that great big ruddy snake and saved my life. How could I not love you after that?"
"Oh…then was it," Harry said. "Why didn't you say anything?"
She just shook her head and looked at him like he was the stupidest man in the world. "Harry, I was only 11! And…well….you just don't go saying things like that when you are 11 years old! Besides I knew you didn't love me."
"How did you know that?" he demanded.
"Because, you were….you were…oh, you were Harry Potter!"
"Still am."
She laughed a bit at that. "Yes, you are…but…oh, you don't understand because you are Harry Potter. The stories we were brought up on, how you, as just a baby, defeated Voldemort. You were a star! And I was just…Ginny…," her voice grew soft and quiet. "A small little girl with red hair, second hand robes, and used books. How could you love me?"
"I love you now," he said softly and kissed her cheek and then he just said it. "Marry me."
"What?" she stammered in astonishment, her eyes wide. "Marry…get married… I…but….yes! Yes, I will marry you Harry Potter!"
"Excellent," Harry said calmly. "Well, I suppose I best get you a ring and we need to make wedding plans. Is that the time? Gosh, I'm starving. Want breakfast?"
She just stared at him, all agog. "Harry!?!"
Then he laughed and broke into a big smile and took her in his arms and they kissed long and passionately and then made love. Long afterwards as they lay in bed, savouring in the peaceful moments after lovemaking, Harry finally had an answer to her first question.
"When I saw Dean kiss you, that time when you and Ron had that big row in Hogwarts and you said he had never snogged anyone. I wanted to rip Dean limb from limb. It was just an uncontrollable feeling, I couldn't stop it. Yeah, I guess that's when I first realized I loved you."
"That was in your sixth year. Took that long to notice me, did it?" she teased him.
"No, I had always found you attractive, but…well, you couldn't even talk to me for years, and you were my best friend's sister, so there was that, and well…it's complicated."
"Love always is," she said and Harry felt warm all over as she kissed him again. He wanted Ginny to be his wife, and he wanted children with her and he wanted a family and he knew he could have all those things and he knew he could be happy. After all he had lost, after all his pain and suffering, after all he had done for so many others, Harry Potter at least deserved that much.