The Crossroads of Fate

Chapter 39: The Party

One couple not sitting before a grave was, ironically, Mark and Aries. Mark had paid his respects, even hugged, the gravestone of Laura Creevey many times. He'd cried over it, he begged her to wake up, to talk to him, but nothing. She wouldn't. She couldn't. She couldn't hear him anymore. She couldn't talk to him anymore. Gone were the days of his childhood, when Laura Creevey would follow him around, make a play for his affection, flirt with him, or else just give him that cute childish smile he knew her for. She was dead and she was never coming back.

Now he war was over, Mark was not sure how to take this. When Walter died, it had been when the war began, a war sparked by the deaths of his parents. Walter died and ultimately, Molly died too by a fearsome curse. A curse that made Mark hate fire itself. Even then, he felt affected and traumatized by it, unable to understand why people were so evil. Incommodo justified the mass murder of Hogwarts students and sent Fiendfyre, and then he discovered Seth set it up, a boy who was still alive and part of the Guard, and Al's friend. Al, his brother, was concerned about a murderer. So… how did Mark feel about this? Was it time for him to move on and start anew?

"We've been through a lot, haven't we?" Aries sighed, staring over the lake. The water was gentle now, no longer slopping wildly like it did during the battle.

"We have."

"When I was ten, I met a boy named Alabaster," Aries recalled. "Alabaster Reeve. He had such a strong sense of justice, insisted that things go the right way, that injustice never be allowed to prevail. He was so set on it, too."

"I get the picture," Mark mumbled.

"He wouldn't take no for an answer," she went on, ignoring Mark's discomfort. "I mean, if you said no, he would either knock the yes into your skull, or else lead you on to it till you took his side eventually."

"Sounds like you," Mark mumbled.

"On the contrary, he was much like you were," Aries told him. "Or maybe all three of us are much alike in different ways. I wish- I"- she looked choked up and she wiped her eyes and Mark looked over at her strangely. He hadn't seen her like this in a long, long time. "I wish he'd never died. A young boy, and his last words, his last words were- were words of love. But he didn't call me Aries like he always did, he referred to me by my last name, like we were- apart. Like we never belonged together and he knew it. Now he's dead, I can probably never talk to him again." She wiped her eyes again, determined not to be seen crying. "Why?" she asked silently. "Why did he die?"

Mark found he could not cry anymore. He was all cried out. He just stared at the lake, at his own reflection, noticing how horrible he looked. "Same reason Laura Creevey died. The best of us die young. I will never talk to her again either, we're in the same boat now. I know- I know exactly how you feel, Aries."

Aries and Mark met eyes, gray on blue. She looked at him with the tiniest hint of suspicion. Not accusatory, but genuine curiosity. "Did you love her?"

"Of course I loved her," Mark said immediately without hesitation. "She was a good friend, she was loyal and trustworthy. And you know me Aries, I love my friends. That love made me what I am now, a hurt, depressed, mangled up, lonely man. She- now she loved me. I mean, the way you and I feel about each other. Know what makes it worse? I never returned those feelings, and I never, not once, turned her down like I should've. I owed it to her, we were friends. I hated seeing people pick on her. I even fought the twins over that and that made them think I returned her feelings. But ever since I saw your name in a newspaper, I knew I still…" he stopped.

"Mark…"

"We lost loved ones, Aries," Mark told her. "Both of us. We lost people who loved us dearly. I lost my father, you lost yours. I lost a girl who loved me, and you lost a boy who loved you. But you… you still have your mother. You're lucky, you have a family still."

"So do you," she told him quietly. "You have Maria. Things got better for you without you realizing it, you have a sister. And she may be a little dark, but she's yours. Mark… you'd better feel eternally grateful for her existence. It's because of her you have a chance, you know?"

Mark wiped his eyes and rested against Aries, who let a tear leak out of her eyes. She said, "You know, I may have been gone for seven years, but I never really forgot about you. I failed to write, but I never forgot. Not really. I always said, always told people I had a fiancée. Even if- even if Alabaster lived, he wouldn't have allowed anything to blossom unless I finalized things with you first. He was- he was that fair."

"I'm sorry, Aries," Mark told her empathetically.

"I'm sorry too, I know how much those around you mean to you," Aries told him.

"Did all the boys die?" Mark asked.

"No, there was- one survivor," Aries remembered. "And to be honest, I probably owe him a visit before I settle here for good. Just to see how he's doing. And then… we'll get married."

"Next year then?"

She considered it, as if a part of her just wanted to rush it and do it immediately, just marry him then and there, but she held herself back. "Yeah," she said approvingly. "Sometime around then."

June…

In the meantime, Albus began tidying Grimmauld Place for himself to live in. And as he understood it, as he offered, Alexis and Alexander were going to join him there. This made him happy but he could tell Harry wasn't too pleased. Albus had finished settling Alexander in a room on the top floor, a room Albus understood once belonged to Harry's godfather. Alexis had a room right across and Albus spent the better part of two days tidying it for her. Alexander helped, of course, probably trying to prove himself a good asset so Albus would agree to his case of not returning to Hogwarts. And as they just finished a war, it looked like Alexander would get his wish.

Albus offered Mark a room but Mark declined. He stayed here and there, never really settling. First he stayed in Godric's Hollow, and then the Weasley household with Ron and Hermione, and then Godric's Hollow, and then to his dusty old home in Somerset, once at the Malfoy Manor, and then back to Godric's Hollow. He meant to get his own place but with no gold, his options were very, very limited. With no gold, everyone's options were limited. The war was too harsh on everyone, no one had money anymore. No one except the Malfoys.

The war was so vicious on people's livelihoods, it took a while for things to get on track. With the Wizards revealed to the Muggle populace and the war over, all borders, Muggle and wizard, were closed and all lines of communication shut to prevent anyone getting in or out and discovering the existence of Wizards around the world. This meant war once again. The Muggles turned on them in a heartbeat and Wizards were forced into Muggle-repelled areas to keep safe. Many preferred to remain in Hogsmeade but a war with the Muggles had started. Witches and wizards were ambushed, attacked, and sometimes, a Muggle even tried getting hold of a wand to disastrous consequences.

War or not, it became clear what had to happen. While Albus was reading Grimmalud Place for himself and the Ackerlys returned to their home to pack some things, Scorpius, Mark, the twins and Lucy were talking.

"I think father is doing the Potions route," Lucy told them.

"What for?" Eric asked, testing his new arm out.

"Sending a Potion down the irrigation systems, wells, and sending teams to more secluded areas is hard but it's the best bet to hide us again," Alex said reasonably. "And thankfully, with a stock of ingredients in the dungeons, it's not too costly."

"And quick, before the Muggles do more damage than we can afford," Mark mumbled.

"I think Incommodo and Dubium beat them to that," Scorpius smirked.

"Fact is, warring with Muggles will delay any effort to set a Ministry up or root the remnants of the Reservation or the Arsenal out," Alex told him. "And it'll interfere with our dealings with the Greeks."

"Alex is right, we can't have another war on our hands," Mark agreed. "And we've been secluded for years. We can't just pop up again."

"I always sort of wished we lived together," Eric sighed sadly.

"Too naïve and too risky," Mark shook his head. "Though… I do favor revealing ourselves to just the right people, promote a sort of interaction."

"But that's after we have a Ministry," Lucy said.

"And said goodbye to our dead," Mark added.

A moment of silence extended on. Albus returned from upstairs and took a seat beside Scorpius, taking a rest from the hard work. He was getting used to living in his own place but he'd been living with company his whole life. Now, he was looking forward to a lifetime with Alexis and the next few years with Alexander, and his social life with his old friends which now, once again, included Mark Wallader.

July…

"Beautiful," Lily moaned, her arm tightly around Hugo, keeping him upright. He still seemed a little dizzy but he was recovering little by little. It did not look like he would be stable by the time the next school year started though and after he retched two days ago, Ron insisted he was going back to St. Mungo's. Albus, Lily and Mark stood. They were the three cursed kids and yet… here they were now, healthy and happy for the first time in a very, very long time. The absence of James still weighed heavily on them but they kept their genuine smiles up. This was no cause to frown. Ginny was in St. Mungo's, and being cradled in her arms was a small boy. Albus' newest sibling. A baby brother.

"Any name?" Mark asked curiously.

"Well… I was thinking Alastor Rubeus Pott"-

Ginny cut Harry off, "No. No! Absolutely not. Your names are cursed. You named James Sirius, he dies. You named Albus Severus, he gets his soul messed with. You named Lily Luna and we're lucky she's unscathed."

"They're perfectly good names"-

"I quite like my name," Albus put in.

"You would," Mark quipped.

"We should- we should name him something different," Ginny said frankly. "His middle name can be meaningful but it's time we give him a name of someone he doesn't feel he has to live up to. Lucas. Lucas James Potter. His name is Lucas."

"Alastor," Harry proposed. "Alastor Lucas Potter."

"Harry"-

"It's a good name."

"It's a name expecting too much of him, you don't know what kind of person he'll be," Ginny told him. "The war is over. Both wars are. Lucas," she repeated. "Lucas, Harry. That is what I want his name to be."

Harry stared uncertainly. Ginny even looked at Albus, "What do you think, Al? Lucas or Alastor?"

Lucas or Alastor… Albus had to admit, he preferred his mother's argument. If the choice was his, he'd name it James but he didn't want to bring back bad memories. This was a happy child, let him live that way, without feeling tied down or anything. This boy would grow up and be in the same year as Libra and Raphael. Out of those three, this boy would be the only one raised by his own parents and not his grandparents or brother. Albus looked up, "Lucas."

"Lucas," Lily agreed.

"Lucas," Mark shrugged.

"Lucas," Ginny repeated to Harry. "Overruled, he's Lucas James Potter."

"Lucas?" Harry began but Ginny's eyes blazed fire at him making him quail, "Great name. Love it."

August…

By August, things had slowly changed. The path to recovery was laid out now. Kabe had began to accept his sister's death and moved on, Hugo was beginning to accept that he now had a nephew, and Mark was slowly beginning to come back into his old self. Aries was, for the first time, quiet and even a little uncertain. For all the wars and fights she got into, it seemed even she had forgotten how it was like to be at peace. That put her in a very awkward spot, especially after she passed her Amulet on to Apollo.

The Goblins were finally being rounded up, Dementors destroyed, and vampires and werewolves imprisoned. The Goblins were in a lot of trouble though. Their rebellion had set things in such drastic motion, it would take years to recover. For one thing, Percy and Bill ordered them to remake and remodel gold and their metals. The Goblins were being denied everything as punishment. Their instruments were taken away and even Gringotts would remain under supervision and even serve as temporary Headquarters until the Reservation were rooted out and due to the siege placed on them as they were trapped underground, they would be eventually. After such heavy losses, the Goblins were in no position to fight back.

Greece was furious though. They were angry at the destruction of an artifact they prized, the deaths and imprisonment of a lot of their own witches and wizards and as the British Wizarding world did not have a functioning Ministry just yet, no formal explanation could be given. Percy wrote a long letter to them to stave a crisis off but they did need repayment and both Harry and Percy adamantly refused to hand them the prisoners they had, the former Arsenal members. They and the Goblins caused too much trouble.

The Goblins were ordered to repay everything they destroyed. All assets and gold used that belonged to other families had to be repaid, all destroyed institutions had to be repaid, and they even had to repay for the damages on the Muggle populace. As the Memory Potion was successfully spread and distributed, their damages were being blamed on natural disasters. The only family to have survived the war with their assets somewhat intact was the Malfoys and that was only because Draco and previously Lucius had protected them all being close to the Minister.

The Malfoy Manor was looking spectacular. It loomed over them in the midday sun, Alexis widening her eyes, never actually having visited the Manor. Scorpius taking over did wonders for its look. Albus had to hand it to him. He knew how to make it look welcoming and with the money in its secret vault, he was considering buying land around it. He had to wait on getting the gold the Malfoys had lost though. The Wizarding world was not rebuilt yet but it was beginning. Hunters were finally being rounded up and some Goblins were being turned in, some turned themselves in and that meant that gold could be made once again. They would have to pay a lot of families back, Albus knew, including the Malfoy family… or what was left of it since the only survivors were Scorpius and Libra and Scorpius, as an adult, had full custody of her. She was staying with the Potters for the time being, which Scorpius was very grateful for. Libra, under the Potter's offering, was staying with the Potters until the month was over, just so Scorpius could take some time to settle down.

Not that Albus was doing poorly. He now lived in Grimmauld Place with Alexis and Alexander and for the past couple of months, they had slowly recovered. The place itself was very quiet, especially in the mornings. Alexander had started a specialized morning school, focusing on magical artifacts and Charms. That seemed to be the compromise he had settled with when he talked to Alexis about it. He figured since he could not pass Hogwarts, he could at least do something worth his time. Alexander finally agreed to allow Alexis to tutor him since he dropped out of Hogwarts, Albus was considering taking the reigns of the Ministry as Harry offered with Scorpius as his partner. This depended on when the Ministry was taken though. Dementors and Goblins still being relentless and the old Reservation and fugitive Arsenal members were occupying the Ministry. Albus had no idea how they intended to take it but it had to be done eventually. Somehow. But that was left to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Percy. Albus needed a break and he was getting one.

Now they stood before the Malfoy Manor, the break was coming to a climax. The summer was ending, the last month was upon them. Soon, the Guard would go back to Hogwarts but first… first they had a party to get to. A party thrown by Scorpius so it could sink in. As a sense of closure, he decided to throw his delayed party and clean up. They had won. Their war was won. They beat the Arsenal, they beat the Reservation and their beloved leader had survived. In the war, they lost James Potter, Michael Finnigan, Laura Creevey and her brother Colin 'Nigel' Creevey, Daniel and Gabriel Dagger, Samuel Redgrow, Rose and Molly Weasley, Walter and Samantha Mold, Riley Blackberry, Fora Vulneroman, and Morpheus Ollivander. They would take a while to recover but with time, they would manage. As Apollo would say, time was powerful. Powerful enough to eliminate even grief.

Alexis kissed him as they walked in to cheering. Albus grinned as Scorpius hugged him and led them to the large ballroom. There they were. All the survivors, young and old. Albus Potter, Alexis Ackerly, (soon to be Potter) and Alexander Ackerly stood facing them. Scorpius Malfoy was standing there, close beside Lucy Weasley. Aries V. Kimble had an arm on Mark Wallader's shoulder. He actually looked good again and stood beside Alex and Eric Wallaby, the latter now with a prosthetic arm. Hugo Weasley and Lily Potter were grinning in a corner. Fauna Redgrow sat with a smile on her face and Roxanne Weasley was in another corner, grinning. Even Neil Nott cracked the smallest of smiles. The Greengrass twins Alpha and Proxima were there, both smiling widely probably having waited for a while, Lorcan Scamander had a misty look in his eyes still but he had his old smile and Lysander looked even mistier. Nate Blackberry seemed to be wrapping his head around his brother's death so he lacked his usual grin, but he made an attempt at one. He was sitting beside Kabe Vulneroman who was in conversation with Frank Longbottom and Pierre Macmillan. Alice Longbottom actually whooped, making Cherry Goal and Melvin Ollivander raise their eyebrows. Maria Prince was conversing with Lancet Goal about something, Lancet seeming interested in something. And last, Apollo, also there and wearing Aries' old amulet under his shirt, alone looking like he really felt he did not belong. He sat further apart than the others, eyes darting left and right curiously. Albus wondered what he was seeing now the war was over.

The only absences were Seth, Sierra, Simon and Sophie. But they were coming. The door opened again and the crowd whooped. Sierra had an arm around Seth and Sophie looked very pleased about something. "Seth Lean," Albus said appreciatively.

Seth Lean did still look a little sick, clearly still having not recovered and Azkaban did not help. Still, just being around Sierra Lean and Simon Far kept his illness benign. Sophie Far was another matter who was grinning all over. The party had finally begun.

It had been a long time since Albus attended a party. This time, he was one of them, not as a leader but a member. But he realized fully how just how many friends he had. The Hogwarts Guard, now formally known as the Old Guard, was celebrating their own victory and the major role they played. They started by just chatting in the large sitting room, the older ones holding wine and the younger ones holding Butterbeer, except Alexander who held lemonade and Lysander who was drinking tea with a wide smile on his face. Scorpius had gone through a lot of trouble to fix the place up. Thirty-five members when there were originally twenty-eight. Some had died, more had come. They were sitting, some on sofas, some on chairs and others on bean bags set up against the wall, against chairs, or against the table.

And Scorpius ran off to get the cake and levitate it into the room. It looked brilliant. He said he had to work at it for five days to get it right because he was a terrible baker. He insisted he followed his mother's recipes. It looked well done in the end though. It took the shape of a large shield, just for them, and had three layers; enough pieces for everyone and the flavors were just everyone's favorites. The smaller top layer was strawberry which actually made Proxima's mouth water, the middle layer was chocolate which Simon smirked at, ignoring Proxima's look, and the bottom was vanilla.

"How my mum managed, I will never know," Scorpius sighed. "But it's the best I could do."

"Perhaps Wizards need their own bakery," Simon suggested.

"Three years together," Sierra squealed.

"That's right, and it seems we've had a job every year," Fauna recalled, patting her sword, it lying harmlessly on her lap.

Mark sighed, "The Heirs, the Relics, and then the actual war. I'm surprised we managed it all in three years."

"Well, you and I had the Amulet to deal with," Albus reminded him. Mark actually smiled at the memory, back when the two worked together and they worked so well together too.

"I'm convinced," Seth said from a bean bag, his eyes half open. "The Potters are jinxed."

"Could be," Cherry yawned. "I'm Muggle-born, I dunno much about the Potters to begin with."

"Just a little introduction, they always cause trouble," Sierra told Cherry.

"Yeah, Al, would you mind telling me why you damaged Apollo's ego?" Aries asked curiously.

"Damaged," Albus repeated. "I didn't damage it. I just wondered why I lived!"

Apollo did have a strange look on his face. Albus would probably never understand the boy but he did have a suspicion that was Apollo's way of messing with his mind. Did Apollo play like other boys his age or was he cooped up all alone all his life? Albus did not know. The first phase of the party was just chatting, the Guard talking up their coming lives. Cherry was looking forward to her years at Hogwarts, some were wondering if the Dueling Tournament would stay, Lancet was grateful the war ended before his own time, and Nate was trying to think up pranks with Gabriel, having moved past his losses for the most part. Simon was chatting with Proxima enthusiastically but she only looked half-interested, her other interest on Alpha trying to chat Cherry up.

Some members even made announcements. After two months of keeping it secret, they finally made it public. Albus and Alexis announced their engagement for one thing and that earned them a standing ovation, Scorpius actually hugged Albus again. Alexis recalled her talking to Harry personally and setting a date and how they fixed Grimmauld Place up for the both of them and Alexander who they had to keep since both parents were out of their lives. That was not the only happy moment. Mark and Aries were openly talking about their coming wedding and Aries seemed so likable this time. She looked and talked so naturally, no longer trying to put a tough front up but relaxing.

And the older ones like Albus were opening up about their hopeful career paths. Alex wanted to keep an eye on Quidditch games and commentate, and eventually join the Auror Department, Eric was actually already signing up to become an Auror when the new Ministry finally took form, Mark was split between Ministry work or just taking over Diagon Alley. He and Aries seriously considered heading it and taking over when it was rebuilt but none was as interesting as Maria. Maria stood up and announced her full intentions. She wanted immortality, which Mark looked away at. Apollo stared with slight interest at her. Albus tried his best to read Apollo's expression but it was unfathomable. No way Albus could tell what he knew about her.

If Maria's was not strange enough, Cherry and Lancet were considering opening a magical artifact shop when Cherry herself left Hogwarts which actually piqued Alexander's interest. He was talking with them too, telling them all he knew about different artifacts. Maria raised her head when Alexander mentioned another soul-connecting cube but put it back down when he emphasized that it was only for detection, not immortality. Cherry and Lancet seemed very interested still, actually asking if there were ever magical artifact traders to which Alexander said, "Only shops. And only Ministries ever auctioned them. You'd have to go to China or Greece for the ones I mentioned. And Greece is mad right now."

Fauna went on to openly flirt with Scorpius, a glass of mead in her hand. It was pretty clear she was not in her mind when she put an arm tightly around him and rested against him. Alex looked away, Eric sniggered but Lucy actually pushed her off, Scorpius looking grateful and Fauna smiling guiltily and left. Nate actually straight out asked Scorpius when he would marry Lucy, making Lucy blush but they made no attempt to deny the question. As his friend, Albus already knew that Scorpius and Lucy were seriously considering it. Still, Lucy was sixteen, she just started NEWT work, and no one knew what the future held for either of them. It was just clear that the two were in a very serious relationship.

That reminded Albus. He called Alpha off Lily and took him aside. "Ok, one thing to say. I don't care what happens from here but I want to tell you this. Don't mess with Lily's love life. I saw you trying to catch her attention from Nate. It's not yours or my business."

"I won't," Alpha mumbled. "Promise."

"I like you, and we're friends, but I don't want Lily to have any more trouble than she already has," Albus told him. "If you two get together, it's gonna be because you grew into each other, not forced."

"I won't," Alpha assured. "You can count on me. I swear." They looked back at the party going on. Drinks, this time just water, tea, coffee, pumpkin juice and lemonade were being served by Lucy. "But… your sister is incredible. And I do still like her, and I do intend to explain how I feel in a year or two."

"Give it a year… date someone, see the world, see what else is there, before you settle so quickly," Albus advised. "Maybe someone better than Lily will come your way."

"Maybe," Alpha said quietly. "Or… maybe there is no one better than Lily," he said as they walked back.

"I wish wizards had coke," Simon said sadly with a jug of pumpkin juice in hand.

"What's coke?"

"My God, Proxy, are you serious?" Simon exclaimed to her raised eyebrows.

The cake only served as the end to the first phase of the party. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Proxima who actually smiled and looked content as she rested against a bean bag. She had no qualms with Simon laying back on her lap either, she just wanted rest. Simon watched from there as Seth had a small smile on his face. Sophie was feeding him and when Seth muttered a thank you, she actually kissed him on the mouth. It looked one-sided but Simon smiled sadly as he stared up.

Albus knew why. Seth was very sick and there was a chance, however slight it was, that he could die. Nobody understood why the Dementors affected him the way they did. Seth had no emotion to feel fear and so he was forced into the minds of others, the minds of those whose lives he ruined. That alone destroyed him and his soul was so close to being sucked out, he still seemed dizzy and if he talked too much, raspy and weak. Being around a positive atmosphere was good for him. Albus was happy he was out of Azkaban.

Another silent guest was Neil Nott, who sported a scar across his face. Sierra actually whooped as she did a handstand and landed right beside him, trying to get him involved in the party. The full moon was later that night so he seemed tired but he was still awake. Neil seemed a little bit surprised though. Albus could hear the conversation, mostly one-sided. "You're alive, you're fine. Just- go with it, ok? It's a party. Know what that is?"

"I don't deserve a party," Neil muttered.

"Sure you do," Sierra said, and when Neil opened his mouth to respond, she put a forkful of cake through his mouth and shut it, watching him eat. "I guess it is strange, knowing you're alive and you always will be. But… we'll get used to it. We're the same age, and we both have a life ahead. I dunno what'll happen but it's a nice adventure. You were Gryffindor, don't you like adventure?"

Neil shrugged and took another piece of cake. He just sat watching, not getting involved, probably still getting used to the fact that he was going to live. At least he seemed somewhat ok. After the cake, everyone settled down. The second phase of the party were games. Pure games and some of them were just made up while others, Alexander insisted they played in America.

The first game they played was Find Kabe who hid in her cloak as a camouflage against the wall. Anyone who even felt for him felt only wall, he was solid only when he moved, which created a blur and spells were ineffective when she moved. Albus tried and failed, even Hugo got up and tried looking for him but tripped over his own feet and fell. He sighed on the floor as Alex looked shrewdly for her. Alice searched and even Frank had tried getting back in his old self and find him but he failed. At times, Albus thought he caught a slight blur of movement against the walls but as his turn was not there, he could only yell where to look and that forewarned him. The cloak was good. Even Aries attempted a powered Supersensory Charm and while it did alert her to movement, when she got there, it was nothing. Nothing but wall.

Hugo even suggested a game of Quidditch which Albus was only too happy to play. His old Slytherin team gathered around him. Scorpius, Lucy, Lorcan, Nate, Alpha, (replacing Gabriel) and Seth. Hugo was sick but for the sake of games, he set up another team which included Mark as seeker, Eric and Frank as Beaters, Roxanne as a keeper, Lily as chaser, and Fauna as Chaser where she usually played keeper in Hogwarts.

Alex magnified his voice and commentated as he always did, once again sounding enthusiastic. His enthusiasm even got Hugo in the spirit. Nonetheless, Roxanne was an amateur, Frank was fair and Hugo was sick still. Lily was pretty good though and Fauna was clearly practicing. Albus' team easily tied with Hugo's team in goals and Mark and Scorpius practically wrestled over the snitch that the Malfoys kept in their cupboards. With no referee, no one could call a penalty and even Aries started laughing and openly rooted for Mark to smash Scorpius' face in. They actually fell off their brooms and wrestled on the floor, almost hugging but anyone could tell the snitch was just standing still, probably having decided it was caught a while ago.

"Never gets old, does it?" Alex said.

"Nope, this isn't unusual in Hogwarts," Albus shrugged, aware that Cherry was shrieking with laughter and Lancet had a small smile on his face. Apollo just watched neutrally until finally saying, "Mark Wallader won."

"Bull crap!" Scorpius yelled. "It's my snitch, it's my Manor, I won."

"Wait, so why did we play then?" Mark asked.

Eventually, Alex agreed to test the snitch's touch memory and saw that it went to Mark. Then, they had to reset the snitch and put it back. The entire event was hilarious and even Hugo looked almost the same before going green and turning away. Lily quickly led him off to the back of the Manor where the springs were while Scorpius led them back inside.

Hugo and Lily were gone a while, Hugo probably having gotten dizzy from the flying. Albus supposed he might have pushed himself too hard so while they waited, Scorpius set up Gobstones, Wizard chess, and Exploding Snap. Alex was a whiz on Wizard chess and played Nate, Fauna, and Aries and he won them all, even against Aries who stared in shock for a bit, as if not believing she had lost.

"Ah, well, can't win them all," Mark said, patting her back.

"B-but, I… I had a system… I had a plan," Aries muttered as Mark led her off.

"Plans fail," Alex waved off. "Look what happened to Herpo."

The Guard clapped as he said this. Simon whooped as Albus sat across from him, partaking in chess as well. Then, Scorpius looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it, we never did learn why Soto and the Reservation by extension wanted Harry as Head of Aurors and Otto as Head of International Magical Cooperation."

Hugo and Lily came in again, Hugo looking a little bit better as he sat and played Exploding Snap with Lily but still getting sprayed by a Gobstone. Lily laughed as Hugo was sprayed and Hugo just smiled as Alice sighed and cleaned him up. It was Mark who answered the question, "Well, I think it's because Mr. Potter was a little easier to predict. He was diplomatic, open, and willing to talk if he needed to. He even negotiated with Soto at one point. He was the best bet at getting Soto what he wanted. So, Harry leaving sort of ruined things. Maybe he hoped to gain Headmastership eventually once Phoenix died… before I stopped him."

"And why Otto?"

"Just to get the exchange students in and out, give an excuse to act," Mark shrugged. "They really were pretty much pawns. You saw how Incommodo used that part and it was honestly Lysander that stopped the full effects because he practically had Rita writing for him."

"Did we ever find out what happened to Rita?" Lysander asked with interest. "She was sent to Azkaban four years ago, wasn't she?"

"She was released, I believe, but kept her pen to herself," Lorcan shrugged. "I remember mum talking about it. She'll be back with a vengeance in a few weeks, I'm sure. Criticizing the way Hogwarts is being run, accusing Harry of playing up Incommodo's old policies, stuff like that. She too was manipulated."

Just then, the cards exploded on Lily's turn, giving Hugo victory and Albus turned back to his chess game. "Move the knight," Alexander advised.

"Erm… why?"

"Just move it!'

"Which one?"

"Queen side knight, you idiot, move it!"

"Fine, Knight to D5."

"No!" Alexander groaned loudly as Alex's rook took it. "D7! Ugh, you find the King in the students and you can't even play chess! How could you marry him?" he challenged a bemused Alexis. "He can't even play chess right!"

"You know what," Alexis said with a smirk. "He's absolutely right. Al, I cannot marry a man who doesn't have his chess skills in order."

The crowd laughed as Albus stared at an even more annoyed Alexander, "Well… that was an unexpected end," Scorpius noted.

"Alexander wishes," Alexis said making her brother go red.

"Fine, I'll play Alex and show you how it's done!"

Albus and Alexis watched with interest as they played each other. Proxima stared too but only because Simon was explaining to her the moves and which pieces could do which moves. She was taking it in and even played a side game with Simon with another board. But everyone was on Alex and Alexander whose game was getting really intense. For five moves, no piece was sacrificed and even Simon moved his eyes over humorously, "No chess pieces were killed during the playing of this game."

Sophie, Cherry, Lancet and some Half-blood members laughed and even Seth had a short smile. Proxima just stared, "What?"

"They're called movies, I'll show you one when I introduce electricity to the Mold Manor and hook a television set up," Simon told her.

"What the heck?"

"You don't know what a"- Simon stopped. "I give up. Proxy, you're a lost cause."

"You're a lost cause!" Proxima argued. "What are you on about? Telay-vijon? What is that? And movie? Simon, the least you could do is explain your crap before you spew it out like a volcano."

Simon rolled is eyes just as Alexander finally knocked Alex's knight off the board. The game started getting interesting after that. Proxima abandoned her game with Simon to watch and Simon just folded his arms, waiting. Alex managed to get rid of some pieces of Alexander's but the boy was attacking. It looked like a full-out assault. Alex was losing pieces fast, Alexander taking advantage of Alex's tactical sacrifices until eventually only his King was left against half of Alexander's pawns, a bishop, two knights, a rook and his own king. Alex stared at the board, a little surprised. "No, you cheated."

"I don't cheat, I massacre," Alexander said bluntly.

Alex knocked his own King down, Nate grinning, "Riley- Riley would've loved to see this."

"I got a better game," Alexander advised. "It's called Ringlet. American witches and wizards play them and I've seen it played in Mexico too."

"What's that?" Alex asked interestedly.

Alexander explained a game similar to Bingo. Each player was given a card with different combinations of a letter and number. The card was large and filled with objects which gave points. The object, he said, was to have your combinations called until you formed a ring around any object and then you could end the game and add up the scores which each object gave or each combination gave, or continue and try to earn more points. The cards randomly changed their combination contents so one needed a keen eye and a quick one before the next combination was called.

"Ok, it's easier to explain as we play," Alexis said. "Here, Al, we'll work together."

"B8," Alexander called first and Alexis explained what they had to do with that calling. They found none on their own card though and others looked carefully, taking their time and Alexander slowly got quicker as they got the hang of the game more. It was certainly a quieter game and even Proxima enjoyed this one. Alpha whooped as he announced he needed one more to make a ring around an object. "Don't announce it to the world!" Alexander said.

Alpha went red and Lily filled her own square in. "G5."

"Ok, so I formed a ring, now what?" Kabe asked.

"Now, you add up your points," Alexander said.

"If you think you have more points based on the squares filled and the objects circled, you can call it quits and see if you won. It has a bit of luck involved."

"And… what if I win?"

"They usually offer prizes," Alexander said. "Like once, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder was offered and another time an object was offered that manipulated a given community. But they're usually small prizes like a chess set."

"So, what if I win?"

"Then, you win, it's just a game," Alexander sighed. "Do you want to stop?"

"Yeah, I wanna see if I win," Kabe shrugged.

"If you don't, the game continues," Alexis said.

It turned out Kabe won though. Late afternoon had arrived and Lily, who got hold of an old Muggle CD player, decided to play some music and went straight for Nate to dance. The third phase of the party seemed like a sort of ball, a dance, and it grew very solemn as Scorpius and Lucy charmed the chairs and tables to the end of the room and entered the floor first. Albus danced with Alexis too, both silent and not talking too much. Mark and Aries were at the back, dancing quietly, Aries' head on Mark's shoulder as they muttered quietly.

A laugh sounded from the side and Albus was surprised to see it was Proxima. Simon grinned, "Made you laugh, I win. Now you gotta dance with me."

"Fine," Proxima sighed. "Freak show."

"Denier," Simon responded, taking her, making Alexis laugh.

They continued dancing. Alpha seemed to have gained a partner in Alice Longbottom but her eyes were still on Hugo who was resting his head on Lily's shoulder. Lily herself was leading the dance. Their dance did not last long once Hugo stopped and shook his head, walking back to sit down and they took no more part. Pierre and Frank were quiet too, neither wanting to get involved, just talking quietly in a corner. It was strange. Ever since his girlfriends died, Frank was quiet. He made it no secret that he felt terrible and felt he was to blame.

Albus felt bad but from what he heard, one of his girlfriends decided of her own free will to follow him in and led the others in. That was what got them killed, not Frank. Still, Frank blamed himself for leading them on to begin with, feeling it would not have happened if he was not so dumb.

"Weirdo Clown," Proxima said easily as they passed again, the two still trading barbs.

"Crazed maniac," Simon said easily.

Roxanne was dancing with Eric, both looking very happy but Eric still feeling uncertain about something. Lily gazed at Nate from the corner with Hugo too but neither made a move, just remained silent. Hugo muttered something to her and rested.

"Muggle-born prick," Proxima sniped back.

"Narrow-minded bigot," Simon snapped as they moved past Albus and Alexis.

"Oh, dear God," Alexis sighed. "So immature."

"Self-destructive scoundrel," Proxima whispered back viciously.

"Two-faced murderer," Simon sighed.

Mark and Aries were naming their future kids now, both of them sighing and shaking their heads. Still, they owned the corner, not moving to the center. Lucy rolled her eyes as she and Scorpius moved past them. "Margaret was my grandmother's name," Mark said.

"Apollo," Aries said.

She was looking at her own brother but Mark had a look, "You have an Apollo."

"So…"

"Brain-dead monkey," Proxima said immediately. "I understand, comebacks take a while sometimes. Especially from Muggles."

Simon considered and then sniped, "Rojer's incarnate."

"Baby-face," Proxima smirked.

"Baby-face?" Simon repeated incredulously.

"Do I win?" she asked with a smirk.

Simon sighed, defeated, "Yeah, you win."

"Great, we stop dancing then," Proxima sighed just before Simon kissed her full on the mouth.

It seemed the dance stopped there anyway. The music reached the end of its track and they rested. Lysander took up his quill to write to his pen pal, probably to apologize for being silent and absent for so long. Boy, did he have a lot to explain.

The next phase occurred in the evening. Neil, who had taken his Wolfsbane Potion, was preparing to transform, being led by Sierra and Scorpius into a room just off them to transform. Albus heard him yell in the pain of transformations but it stopped in seconds and then the chamber opened up. Scorpius walked out first and beside him was Sierra who had a hand on a wolf's head. Neil prowled in, keeping his eyes down but nobody yelped or stayed away. It was another mark of the strong friendship formed between the Guard members. Some even came up and hugged him. Hugo actually touched his snout and Sierra kissed his furry head before Neil curled up in a corner and rested, Sierra laying against his wolfish form and closing her eyes. For them, at least, it seemed the party had come to an end.

At least they were still awake. Albus felt he did owe them a speech. Albus took that moment, in the night, to say to them something that he'd been wanting to say for a while. Something that had been building up in him before he settled down on the sofa beside Alexis. "Guys… I just want to say… you're all heroes. I mean… I am not your leader anymore but we're still the Old Guard and we're all friends. Just… I- I love you all, ok?"

Seth looked down, not saying a word but Sierra, resting against a Neil who howled lowly, said, "That's what I said. So… what're we gonna do? Declare war on Greece next?"

"Well, they are pretty angry at us destroying their Scepter," Aries sighed.

"No… we'll stay out of that mess. But… I dunno, it's just worthy to think about. We really all got sort of closer and"-

"Al's being lame," Scorpius sighed. "What he means to say is basically my proposal. Every month, the first weekend of every month, we should all meet here. In our grounds, we walk in together, and we chat, we hang out. Just as friends. Deal?"

"Yes," Cherry said slowly. "But how do we meet when we're in Hogwarts?"

"The ones who can," Scorpius amended. "But once we're all finished with Hogwarts, it won't be hard."

Neil howled lowly again and Sierra nodded. Frank gave an affirmative and even Aries agreed. Then, Lucy said, "But maybe we shouldn't go overboard with the party. Just a chat next time."

"Party once a year," Scorpius proposed. "Last weekend of every August, like now. Just as an anniversary for our achievements. Deal?"

"Deal," Albus said.

And the Guard, without hesitation, even Maria, Aries, even Seth, promised they would for as long as they lived.

The Hogwarts Guard fell asleep after that, with the promise in mind. They would meet. Apollo knew it. He saw the future. Each and every member, without fail, would meet at the Malfoy Manor for the rest of their lives. His visions came again. They were not so bad now the war was over. They did not change as often as before. He saw him heading Hogwarts… but he also saw others.

Alexander was snoring, cuddling a stuffed dragon close to him as he slept. Alpha was breathing lightly, staring up stretched out across the floor. Apollo knew his fears were unfounded. He would not die alone. Something Albus said to him earlier that day assured that and neither knew it at the time. Apollo's eyes moved back to Scorpius. He would raise Libra Malfoy and find difficulty, he was not used to raising a child but he would have his own kids. That was a relief. His future was good too. The terrible future Albus nearly set in motion could've ruined the Malfoy family. He saw Hugo. He would recover, given time, but he was sick. The only uncertainty was Seth. It depended not on him now, but on Sierra Lean and Simon and Sophie Far. Aries would marry Mark, Albus would marry Alexis and though they were still dating, yes, Scorpius and Lucy would marry too.

The ending was good. And the Greek problem would also die down… eventually. It might take a while but not too many people would die, certainly not any of the Guard. Their deaths, however short or long, would be natural. All of them would die eventually, he knew. All would perish and move on but Apollo resolved to be there for each and every one of them. He alone knew when they would happen and he would be there for all of them. He would knock on their doors and his appearance would inform them of their fate and he would remain until their deaths. Only Apollo would have nobody with him but nameless friends and family around him, people he did not yet meet. Smiling slightly, he fell asleep, curled up in fetal position, breathing lightly for the first time in a very long time.

A/N: Hi readers! Well, this is the end of the long journey that was Albus Potter and the Crossroads of Fate. From the summer of 2011 till now, the autumn of 2015. Four years with Albus Potter and it's over. Stay tuned for one last chapter on Albus, and how everything turned out twenty years later. At the end of the Epilogue, I will give one final note to everyone and an FAQ to answer whatever questions I might've forgotten. See you there.