Chapter 67 : "Parting is such sweet sorrow . . ."
"Well," Albus stood and faced the gathered Witches, Wizards and guests. "As much fun as this has been, I'm sorry to say the time has come to say goodbye to our friends. They must return to their lives and we must all get on with our own."
Harry stood and walked to stand next to the Headmaster.
"But first, I think we should give three cheers for Dan, Rupert, Emma and Tom. Hip-hip!"
"Hoorah!"
"Hip-hip!"
"Hoorah!"
"Hip-hip!"
"Hoorah!"
Wild applause, whistles and shouts rang out, as all of the members of the Magical world came forward and engulfed the four Muggles, hugging, kissing, saying their good-byes, with not a few tears of gratitude mixed in the expressed sentiments being given.
All too soon, the goodbyes were over and the whole Weasley contingent made their way out the door, along with the resident teachers.
"Headmaster," Emma said, tugging on his sleeve.
"Yes, Emma?"
"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous for all of the children to know about us . . . I mean, the adults that went through it will keep the change of events to themselves, but young children might be tempted to brag that they know a 'secret'." Emma looked up at the old Wizard and saw that famous twinkle in his eyes.
"Have no worries about that, my dear," he said, bending over to whisper to her. "Filius is going to visit all of them tonight, as they sleep, to do a 'Memory Modification' on each of them. All they'll remember of today is family and friends gathering for a picnic lunch, with a Quidditch match in the afternoon. And they hold those kinds of events fairly regularly, so today will just blend in with the rest and become part of their collective childhood memories," he explained.
"Oh, well, then that's not a worry anymore, is it?" Emma gave a sigh of relief.
"We left nothing to chance when we planned for your visit," Albus reassured her, as they turned to join the others.
X X X
The Malfoys were saying their good-byes to Dan, Tom and Rupert when Emma and Albus joined them.
"Oh, I am going to miss you," Cissa said, as she hugged Emma. "But, who knows, we might run into each other at Logan, coming or going . . . "
"Wouldn't that be funny; you could act like fans, I'd give you my autograph and we'd share a cup of tea, being British, chatting, waiting for our flights," laughed Emma. "I'd be none the wiser and " she leaned closer and added softly," you could see how I was doing and report back to Draco."
Cissa looked at the young woman standing in front of her, both feeling the tears threatening to fall, so they just hugged again.
"Take care of yourself, Cissa and also that husband of yours. Do try to keep him from buying out L. L. Bean's, won't you?" Emma joked, to break the tension.
"A forlorn hope, at best, my dear. There's no controlling Lucius once he's through the front door," Narcissa replied, rolling her eyes.
"Did I hear my name and Bean's in the same sentence?" inquired the Wizard in question, as he turned to Emma. "I promise to leave some of the merchandise for you and your friends, Emma, dear," he added, as he hugged her good-bye.
"I'm holding you to that, Lucius. Take care," Emma smiled at him.
"You, too, with all of your globe-trotting," Lucius answered. "Come along, dear," he said, as he took his wife's hand. "We mustn't hold up the proceedings. Good-bye, all!"
"Good-bye!" chorused the four Muggles, then looking at each other, laughed.
"Couldn't have done that if we tried." Rupert shook his head.
X X X
Remus, Tonks and Teddy headed home next, after thanking the kids, again, for all they'd done. Then Luna and Neville said their good-byes and walked off, arms around each other, like old friends will do
Then it was Severus and Katie's turn.
"I really don't know how to thank you four, for not only helping us, but for saving the Wizarding World."
"Just work hard to make sure it doesn't happen again," Dan suggested. "But, then, history does have a habit of repeating itself." He shrugged.
"However," Albus injected. "There's a whole generation that will remember and, I hope, use that knowledge to head off any attempts, that might be made in the future, to unsettle our way of life."
"Your mouth to God's ear, Albus," Minerva added. "Well, I'm off; lesson plans await my attention! Take care of yourselves, and no disrespect meant, but I hope I never see you four again!"
They all laughed as the Transfiguration teacher walked away, waving as she went.
X X X
"Well, let's head up to my office, shall we?" Albus turned and headed out of the Great Hall.
When they had all reached the Grand Staircase, Severus and his family said their good-byes and then watched as the young people and Sirius followed the Headmaster up the stairs toward his office.
"I'm so happy I got to meet them in person," Katie said, leaning against her husband.
"Although I didn't think so at the time, the best day of my life was when they showed up at Grimmauld Place . . . well, beside the day I opened my eyes and saw you entering the Hospital Wing," he replied, bending to kiss the top of her head.
"Flattery will get you . . . oh, never mind," Katie laughed, as she handed their youngest, who was fast asleep, to his Daddy to carry. "Alright, everyone, time to go home, come along Alan . . . Eileen . . . it's been a long day for Daddy and he needs to get home and put his feet up."
"Honestly, woman! You make me sound like I'm in my dotage!" Severus looked at his wife, eyebrow raised.
"I'm the Healer, remember? When I say rest, you rest!" Katie shot back, trying, unsuccessfully, to hide a giggle.
"Yes, well, we'll see about 'rest', after the children are in bed," he replied, wiggling his eyebrows, which caused Katie to blush and turn to shepherd her children out the door.
"You're a dirty old man, Severus Snape," she hissed at him, over her shoulder.
"And you love every minute of it, too, you saucy Witch!" Severus teased, swatting her butt as he passed her.
"Oh! Severus!"
X X X
Sirius closed the door of the Headmaster's office. Each of the visitors gave Albus a hug and turned to 'Floo' to Grimmauld Place.
"I think you've heard "thank you" enough to last a life time, but I must give you my personal thanks, for helping us defeat Voldemort and also, on a more personal level, saving this old Wizard's life and showing me the errors of my ways," he added.
"We're not going be burdened by the avalanche of gratitude in about twenty minutes, so don't worry on that score, Headmaster," grinned Dan.
"I wish you all well, in your careers and in your personal lives." Albus looked at each of them, Emma last and his gaze stayed on her for a moment longer.
"Goodbye, Albus!" said Tom, as he and Sirius stepped into the fireplace.
"Poof!"
"Good luck with the next generation of Weasley's!" laughed Rupert, as Ron and Hermione stood next to him.
"Poof!"
"It's been a real adventure . . . Hey! Somebody should write a book about it!" kidded Dan, as Harry laughed.
"Poof!"
"Goodbye, Headmaster . . . I'll miss you!" Emma waved, as Draco threw down the 'Floo Powder'.
"Poof!"
X X X
When Draco and Emma stepped out of the fireplace in Grimmauld Place, the others were already on their way upstairs. Draco's arm was still around Emma's waist as he guided her past the kitchen table. He could feel her resistance as they neared the stairs, so he stopped and pulled her into his arms.
"I realize this is hard for you, Emma, my darling, but it will happen so quickly and you won't remember," Draco whispered in her ear.
"You're the one bearing the burden, Draco . . . I'm so sorry . . . I," Emma started to say.
"Hush." Draco pulled back and put a finger on her lips. "I don't want you to spend the next few minutes we have, worrying about me . . . I'll be fine . . . trust me," he added, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, you!" Emma laughed, then taking his hand, turned to start up the stairs. She didn't see Draco's face turn from wicked 'bad boy' smirk to abject sorrow and dread.
X X X
Just as Draco and Emma caught up with the others in the parlor, they heard Ron exclaim, "Bloody Hell!"
"Now what, I wonder?" Emma asked, as they entered the room.
"Our gear," Tom explained. "All the stuff we took back with us."
"Oh, dear. What should we do?" Emma turned to Draco.
"Simple, we'll just put it back . . . the reverse of when we all raced each other to get the stuff for the trip back to the Christmas break in the first place."
"But, the clothes are dirty," Dan reminded them.
"And we used the notebooks and marked up the novels with highlighter," Rupert reminded them.
"Not a problem," Hermione said, as she stepped forward, wand out, did a cleansing spells on each of their bags and its contents.
Turning to Emma's tote, she took out the spiral notebooks, removed the used pages and tossed those in the fireplace, where Sirius burned them with a flick of his wand. Then she replaced the used pages with new ones. The Harry Potter books were cleaned of ink and highlighter marks and put back in the tote. She handed Dan the DVDs to return to his house.
"There, all just as when we packed, so, Emma?" Hermione held out her hand, which Emma took and 'Pop' , they 'Disapparated' to Emma's apartment to replace everything.
"Well, let's do this," said Ron, holding out his hand to Rupert, with Dan and Harry, Draco and Tom following suit.
'Pop' 'Pop' 'Pop'
X X X
When the four pairs returned, there was an awkward silence, broken when Sirius cleared his throat.
"Well, I think you lot need to be alone for this next bit. I consider myself lucky to be able to have met you all and I owe you my life."
He quickly hugged each of the travelers and exited the room.
"For once, he's a man of few words," Harry smiled. Then he clapped and rubbed his hands together. "We've talked over how this is to be done and it's dead simple; we'll activate the 'Time Turners' and the next thing you all will know is . . . you're back at the same spot, yesterday morning, when you were gifted with your necklace and "Time Turner' and you'll proceed with your day, totally unaware any of this happened. So, let's pair up with the one who put your chain around your neck when you were frozen for that second or two, shall we?"
"May I have one last moment with Emma, please?" asked Draco, taking her hand.
"Of course," answered Hermione, before any of the others could respond.
Pulling her to the other end of the room, Draco turned his back toward the others, shielding Emma from their gaze, even as Hermione urged them not to eavesdrop. Feeling slightly guilty, they looked away, chatting about what they last remembered about Saturday morning.
"We only have a minute, Emma, but, even though this is goodbye, I will always treasure the time we had together and I will try to move on with my life, knowing you love me," Draco murmured softly, putting his hand under her chin to make her look up at him.
There were tears on her lashes , but she brushed them aside, and gave a small smile.
"I won't have you remembering me as a leaky waterworks!"
Draco chuckled.
"I do love you, Draco . . . I wish . . . " Emma stumbled to a halt.
"I'll be in your heart and in your mind, even though you won't know, so for the next few moments, remember that and give me a smile when you leave, promise?"
Nodding her head, Emma gazed into those ice blue eyes, trying with all her heart and soul to imbed them in her brain.
Draco took her face in his hands and bent to kiss her, as her arms wrapped around his torso. The kiss wasn't desperate or wild, but soft, tender, full of love and meaning. Stepping apart, Draco winked and they turned and rejoined the others.
X X X
Ron and Hermione grasped their 'Time Turner' necklaces and took hold of Tom and Emma's hands.
"Ready?" asked Hermione.
Tom and Emma nodded and as Hermione started to activate the devices, Emma cast one last look at Draco and smiled. He mouthed, 'I love you . . . Always.' and then . . .
POW!
A lorry right next to them on the street backfired and a huge cloud of diesel smoke enveloped Emma and Tom.
"Oh!" *cough! cough!* "Oh, dear!" Emma exclaimed.
*cough! cough!* "Bloody hell!" Tom exclaimed, waving his hands, trying to clear the air around them, but he couldn't even open his eyes, the smoke was so thick.
"Oh, Tom, my eyes are watering; my makeup will be ruined! *cough!*" Emma sputtered.
Then a gust of wind cleared the air and the two friends looked down the road at the fast disappearing lorry.
"AH, well, at least he stayed in the road and didn't hit us in all that smoke," Tom laughed.
"How do I look, Tom? Is my makeup okay?" Emma asked.
Tom turned and cast a critical eye at his friend.
"No apparent damage, Emma, so . . ." Tom took her arm and looped it in his. "We're off to Dan's." Then he started whistling 'We're off to see the Wizard/follow the yellow brick road', which caused Emma to burst into laughter.
X X X
Rupert was dodging through the crowd in the Tube station, head bowed a bit, out of habit, to keep from being recognized. Not that he wouldn't stop if someone realized who he was and called his name, but he was late already and . .
*BAM!*
Just as he turned a corner, heading for the stairs, he hit his head on a low hanging sign.
"OW!"
Ron bent over, his hand on his forehead, seeing stars.
"Damn and blast! That hurt!"
He stood up, checked his hand for blood, but when he looked up everything was spinning, so he squeezed his eyes shut. Rupert stood there for a moment or two and then, tentatively opened one eye . . . oh, okay, everything was back to normal.
"Oy, mate! Did you 'it your 'ead," asked a maintenance man as he approached, dragging a trash bin behind him. "Someone moved this 'ere trash bin, found it down the 'allway. It's usually right 'ere, just to get people to step wide as they come 'round this corner, to keep 'em from 'itten they noggins! Sorry, mate!"
"Quite alright, no harm done. I wasn't watching where I was going." Ron smiled and turned to go up the stairs.
"Told 'em it was a stupid place for this sign, but do they listen . . .Nooooo," mumbled the Tube worker, as he pushed the bin against the wall, directly under the sign.
X X X
Dan was humming "Brotherhood of Men" as he finished brushing his teeth. He rinsed his mouth, put his toothbrush and toothpaste in the medicine cabinet and shut the door. Checking in the mirror, he ran his fingers through his hair. The curtain on the window fluttered in the morning breeze and the movement caught his eye, but as he glanced in that direction, the curtain moved just enough to allow a shaft of bright sunshine to enter, hitting Dan right in the face.
"Whoa!" he gasped, as he shut his eyes. "Great, that was as bad as paparazzi flashbulbs." Dan stood still for a moment to let his eyes adjust and then opened them again. Good, no floating spots in front of him. He turned and left the bathroom.
X X X
Dan Radcliffe came down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. His friends would be arriving shortly and he wanted to be sure everything was ready. It wasn't often that the four of them were in town at the same time, but when they did manage to co-ordinate schedules, they would get together and catch up on each other's lives. Even though he knew they'd make themselves at home, it wouldn't do to be missing Rupert or Tom's favorite beer or the particular brand of cookie Emma preferred. A quick check proved his fears to be groundless; his housekeeper had gotten all the things on the shopping list yesterday and left him a note, detailing where any of the other items had been stored. Perfect! He glanced up at the clock on the wall . . .10 AM. He stood looking around the kitchen, then snapped his fingers and went to a sideboard and retrieved a deck of cards and poker chip carousel, placing them on the table.
DING-DONG!
"Right on time!" Dan smiled, as he walked to the front door and opened it wide. "Hey guys!
"Dan!" Emma threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug, then turned him loose so Tom could greet their host.
"Hey, mate, glad you're back, I've been itching to lighten your wallet with a little game of poker." Tom grinned wickedly, after giving Dan a friendly hug.
"Oh, as if!" Dan smirked at the tall blond and then closed the door, following them into the living room. "Rupert is on his way, should be here any minute."
"Well, that's even more of the ready for me to collect." Tom threw himself down on the couch.
"You seriously think you stand a chance against my superior skills?"
"I wouldn't say superior skill had anything to do with it."
"Oh really?" Dan lifted one eyebrow. "So, to what do you attribute my winning ways, then?"
"Sheer dumb luck! as our Maggie would say!"
"Both of you stop!" Emma scolded, hands on her hips, scowling. They slowly swung their gazes around and looked at her, surprised, but then she smirked. "I've been playing a bit, myself. So . . . you'd better not take me for granted or you'll both be a few quid poorer!" She sniffed, turned up her nose and crossed her arms, giving them both her best 'know it all' look.
Dan and Tom regarded her in silence for a moment, then turned to the other and lifted their hands, wiggling their fingers.
"OOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Guess she told us, huh?"
"We have been warned!"
"Too right we have!"
DING-DONG!
Saved from Emma's scathing retort, Dan went to the front door. "Rupert, get in here and help us! Emma's being mean!"
"Well, what did you and Tom say, this time, to set her off?"
X X X
As the door closed, Harry, Ron & Hermione looked at each other, and then turned to walk down the street, Harry's 'Invisibility Cloak' hiding them from any Muggles who might come strolling along the sidewalk.
"Well, that's done. Now what?" Ron asked.
"We'll get on with our lives, just as they will."
"I liked them, Harry," Hermione took one last look over her shoulder.
"So did I, Hermione, so did I."
"Well, we have to get to the Burrow and help Mum with the kids . See you later?" he added, waving his necklace.
"Count on it; Ginny and I will be there for dinner."
Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek and took Ron's arm, they activated their necklace 'Time Turners' and vanished.
Harry turned and gazed at Dan's house for a long moment.
"Thanks, mate."
Then he, too, was gone.