Chapter Twenty Six
Everyone watched as Harry stood there. At first, there was nothing. Just Harry looking out across the bridge.
Hermione noticed it first. She saw the familiar shine of an invisibility cloak being taken off.
"There's someone there!" she shouted, and she and Ron sprinted to the door. They had almost left the Great Hall when McGonagall said, "Wait."
They turned and watched as the Invisibility Cloak fell off to reveal a young girl, of about fifteen.
"Hello, Harry," she said.
Harry didn't flinch. It was almost as if he was expecting her. "You came," he said.
"Of course," she said. "I promised, didn't I? You're like a brother to me. Except all grown up."
"Sorry to disappoint," Harry said.
He turned around and scanned her, up and down. "You know that you're still wearing the same clothes, right?"
She glanced down at her clothes. "Huh," she said quietly, almost as if in shock. "I almost didn't notice it."
She looked back up at Harry.
"Is it the same day?" he asked quietly.
She opened her mouth, but closed it again, looking around sadly.
"Is it the same day?" he demanded.
"Yes. But if it makes you feel better, it's been about eight hours. We had to deal with U.N.I.T., first. And then we watched you, for hours. We were always there. From the first letter to the last battle. We were there for all of it."
"You knew," he whispered deathly silent.
"What?" she asked.
"You knew!" he shouted. "All along, you knew. About…everyone. About everything. I mean, even my nickname!"
...
Whenever Harry was upset about the Dursleys, Rissa would come to him and say, "There's a difference between having a beating heart and living, Harry. You only get to be on this earth for so long, so you got to learn to make the best of it without being to reckless. You got to be the Boy Who Lived. When it comes to the Dursleys, live. Because your future is worth it."
And Harry would smile. And he became the Boy Who Lived.
...
"Yes, I knew!" she shouted. "Of course I knew. You might be the Boy Who Lived, but I'm The Girl Who Knew Too Much. I know much more than you could ever know. And I've lived it with you! I was there, Harry! I was with you for every second! And I grew attached, and fell in love with your friends too! You weren't the only one who lost people when they died!"
Harry stopped. And slowly, he looked her in the eyes. "You're right."
"I know," she said. But she said it full of sadness. This girl might only be fifteen, but she had eyes that carried the weight of the world.
"What about my future?" Harry asked
"What about it?" she asked.
"Does it get better?" He asked.
"Yes, but some things never leave you," she said. "There are some bad things. George is never able to make a Patronus again. Alice and Frank Longbottom never recover."
"But?" Harry asked.
"McGonagall become Headmistress," she said. "And Kingsley becomes Minister. Kingsley lets anyone who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts – that's what they'll call this battle from now on – to become an Auror without the needed N.E.W.T.s. All Death Eaters (other than the Malfoys, because they ended up helping out) go to Azkaban. Neville and Hannah Abbott get married. Hannah becomes the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, and Neville becomes the Herbology professor once Professor Sprout retires. Luna travels the world with her husband, Rolf, the grandson of Newt Scamander. They have two twins: Lorcan and Lysander. Draco marries Astoria Greengrass, and they have a son together, Scorpius Hyperion. He also becomes a Healer. George marries Angelina Johnson, and they have two kids together – Fred and Roxanne. Bill and Fleur's first child was named 'Victorie' because it means Victory in French. She was born on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. Even Percy! He marries a woman named Audrey and has two girls, Molly and Lucy. And he cleans up his act. Teddy Lupin is raised by his grandmother, Andromeda. Teddy and Victorie start dating. Firenze was welcomed back into the centaur herd. Dolores Umbridge was imprisoned for crimes against muggleborns. Lockheart won't ever recover from his memory loss. Hermione goes back to back for her seventh year. Ron helps George with the shop, an Weasley's Wizard Wheezes become very, very successful. They get married, and have two amazing kids together: Rose and Hugo. Hermione also becomes a high-ranking witch in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and continues with SPEW. Ron becomes an Auror. Ginny becomes a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, before retiring as a Quidditch consultant for the Daily Prophet. The jinx on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors broke when Voldemort died. You make sure that Snape's picture is back in its proper place inside the Headmaster's office. You, Ron, and Hermione all get chocolate frog cards."
"And what about me?" Harry asked.
"You fall in love with a beautiful girl named Ginny. You have three wonderful children together, named James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. You become an Auror along with Ron, eventually taking over the department. You lose the ability to speak Parseltongue. You and Dudley get a good relationship, and continue to visit each other until the day he dies. You get Sirius's motorcycle back; Mr. Weasley fixes it for you. Oh, and just warning you, your kids steal the Marauder's Map from you and smuggle it into Hogwarts."
"Wait," said Harry. "Why would we join the Ministry? After all that they've done to us?"
"Because you fix it. Because you make it a good place," she said. "They don't even use dementors anymore.
Harry looked worried so she continued. "You're not the Chosen One just because you stopped Voldemort. You're the Chosen One because you helped fix the Wizarding World."
"Alright...as long as we help fix it..."
"Oh!" she said, remembering. "I got these things for Ron and you." She held out two small boxes. One said Ron and the other said Harry.
Harry looked inside his and was shocked. It was a ring!
"It was your mother's," she whispered. "James gave this ring to your mother. And Ron's is his family heirloom. It took a while to find, but…we've got all the time in the world." She gave a bright smile.
Behind her, there was a weird buzzing/screeching noise. On the other side of the bridge, a blue box was fading in and out of existence. Finally, the noise stopped, and the blue box just sat there.
Everyone turned to McGonagall. She looked aghast and said, "I never seen that before."
Liar.
They watched as the girl jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
"Want to pop in for a bit?" she asked. "Just one more little trip?"
Harry sighed. "You know, I need to see…"
"Come on," she said. "We'll be back before you know it."
Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I just can't."
A phone rang.
"Wait, one second," the girls said, holding up the index finger. She picked up her phone.
"Hello?" shes asked. Then she went white. "You did what?" she asked angrily.
She listened to whatever they were saying, and then sighed. "Alright, how much is the death toll?"
"How much is the death toll?" she repeated. She waited before putting her face in his hands. "Shit. What the hell is wrong with you!" she listened to a few more things before saying, "No, you listen! I told you to lay low, and you go and do something completely reckless like this."
"Alright, I'm coming," she said, hanging up.
"I'm sorry, Harry," she said, turning to Harry. "But I've got to go. I'll talk to you later."
She was about to leave when Harry reached out for her arm. "No. I'm coming with you. Your friend is in some kind of danger, and you're following them into it! You're like a sister to me."
"Fine," she said, biting her lip and looking back and forth between Harry and the blue box. "Come on," she grabbed Harry's hand and they hurried into the blue box.
The world was still for several seconds, then the box made that odd noise and shimmered in and out of existence. And then it was gone, and the group in the Great Hall were left in shock as they were staring at an empty bridge.