CHAPTER 43: KEEP IN TOUCH
Canada didn't consider himself an expert on feasts at Hogwarts, but from what little experience he had he would hazard the guess that this one was strange. It was like a huge pajama party, since everyone had probably been in bed when they were summoned, and it lasted all night. Other strange but wonderful things happened throughout. Right off the bat, just as people were still filing into the Great Hall, they all bore witness to the sight of England being chased out of the castle by Peeves, who was singing a song and throwing things at him. They only heard a snippet of what he was singing, but considering how it used terms like 'Artie the fartie' and 'heart black and twisted as licorice', it probably would have been amusing.
Another surprising thing was everyone at the Hufflepuff table noticing Canada, telling him how worried they'd been and how happy they were that he was okay. Hannah had hugged him for a solid ten seconds. Of course everyone wanted to know what had happened to him, so he told them a slightly censored version (he didn't look the Basilisk in the eye, his fight against it was rather more one-sided favouring the giant snake, etc.). Everyone was shocked and impressed, and he was told that he'd won Hufflepuff two hundred points for his 'resolve in the face of danger'. No wonder everyone was paying attention to him.
The next strange thing was all of the formerly Petrified victims running into the Great Hall, hale and healthy one again, to great applause and cheering. After welcoming back Justin (which he felt a bit awkward about, since they didn't know each other all that well), Canada ran over to the Gryffindor table to welcome back Hermione. She was elated that they'd managed to solved the case without her, and Canada pointed out that if she hadn't figured out it was a Basilisk, he and Ginny would probably still be down in the Chamber. Then everyone freaked out at him and told him not to say things like that. Obviously none of them wanted to think about what might have happened if they hadn't been able to mount their rescue mission. Canada could understand, because frankly he wanted to think about it even less. He was extremely thankful he hadn't had to find out just how 'persuasive' You-Know-Who could be.
Then, at about half past three, Hagrid turned up. He looked rather pale and thinner than usual (though he was still about twice the width of a normal man), but his genuine smile was enough to lay any worries Canada had about him to rest. He was so happy to see Hagrid back he couldn't even be mad at him about the whole 'sending children to a colony of giant man-eating spiders' thing.
Then the six hundred points America, Harry and Ron earned for Gryffindor won them the House Cup yet again. Canada' two hundred for Hufflepuff put them in second place, which was one place better than last year. If this trend continued, they might actually win next year! Then Professor McGonagall stood up and announced that exams had been cancelled as a school treat. There was a great, synchronized sigh of relief amongst the students. Canada joined in. Even with all the studying he'd done, he doubted he would have done very well. The professors might just be realizing that if they did do exams this year, they would have to significantly lower their standards if they wanted most of their students to pass. Then Dumbledore announced that Professor Lockhart wouldn't be returning next year, owing to the whole memory loss thing and thinking his name was Glinda the Sparkly Wizard. Canada was pleased to see several teachers join in on the cheering.
After the feast, the rest of the summer term passed in what felt like a haze of blazing sunshine. Things at Hogwarts went pretty much back to normal, except people paid much less attention in class, Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons were cancelled due to lack of a professor, and Lucius Malfoy had been fired. Canada derived far too much joy from seeing his son wander through the halls looking much less sure of himself. On the other hand, Ginny was happier than ever, and always noticed Canada now.
Much, much too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Canada, America, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves, and Fred and George somehow managed to squeeze their way in, too. They all made the most of their last few hours of legal use of magic. They played Exploding Snap, which America announced to be his new favourite card game ever, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster Fireworks, which America also loved, and practiced disarming each other by magic, which Canada was very happy about because he managed to beat America for once. He'd been practicing on his own ever since the Duelling Club.
After some gossip about Percy's new girlfriend, they finally arrived at King's Cross. Harry pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment. "This is called a telephone number," he told Ron, scribbling it down thrice, tearing the parchment in three and handing a piece to Canada, Ron and Hermione. "I told your Dad how to use a telephone last summer, he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys, OK? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to…"
"Oh, right, phone numbers! Dude, hold on!" America scrabbled in his bag and pulled out a stack of business cards, which he handed to the Golden Trio. "Okay, here's mine! Man, this is going to make talking sooo much easier, you have no idea!"
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "You have business cards?"
"What, don't you?" said America. Canada leaned over to Ron and read the card. Alfred F. Jones, HERO! He rolled his eyes. Of course he'd do that…
As they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging towards the enchanted barrier, Canada said, "Your Aunt and Uncle will be proud, eh? When they hear what you did this year?"
"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you mad? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious…"
And so they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world, and both Canada and America began mentally preparing themselves for the switch from being young wizards to being powerful nations.
A/N: IT'S DONE!ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN! *breathes sigh of relief* HUGS! \(^-^)/ I really don't know what else to say about this chapter. Now Q&A! To SoulxMakaLover37: No problem! It was a good idea. And MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The first thing I would do is hug him and claim it's only so that I can stay warm. To Serebiiet: Interesting idea, but I'm pretty sure Voldemort has no idea what his Horcruxes are up to. He had no idea they were being destroyed, after all, and I don't want to ignore canon too much, so SORRY! :( To RussianMochi: Yup, that's what would've happened. England didn't want to doom one of his people when there was a chance the case could be solved without anyone getting killed. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favourited, or just read this thing. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have made it this far. I'll be taking a short break before starting on Prisoner of Azkaban, but I'm really stoked about it. I think I've figured out America and Canada's Boggarts (you'll all probably be really disappointed) and classes, but I still need some help with memories for the Dementors, so leave suggestions in your reviews. Thank you all again, and I'll see you in Prisoner of Azkaban!