A/N: to FreeChaosHunter- it would be appreciated if you keep your opinions to yourself and put those 'dirty fingers' of yours to places where the sun doesn't shine.

Apart from that, I deeply sympathise with the people who have suffered in Sandy's hands. I sincerely hope none of my readers or their friends/family were victims.

22. Loose Ends

This wasn't the situation Cornelius Fudge wanted to see himself in. He was having a horrible day since he was informed about the escape of Peter Pettigrew. Now he had to face the press and explain everything. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room. Immediately, journalists started questioning, and he felt a bit dizzy at the amount of questions coming at him. He pointed at a nervous looking woman. She gulped before questioning.

"Minister, how did Pettigrew escape from the Aurors even though he was outnumbered and without a wand?"

"As he admitted in the court, Pettigrew was an animagus. Unfortunately, the Aurors who were assigned to transfer him to Azkaban were not used to deal with animagus criminals. Pettigrew took advantage of that once they were on the boat. You see, it's rather difficult to find a rat in dark water." He chuckled half-heartedly, but no one seemed to find it funny.

"But surely experienced Aurors like them would have the common sense to raise a ward when they knew Pettigrew was an animagus?" another asked.

"Err... I guess you can say that these Aurors were kind of lacking in experience. They were the reserve Aurors." He said uncomfortably.

"Why would you appoint Aurors from the reserve to carry out such an important job? Where were the experienced Aurors, then?" a burly woman asked a bit aggressively.

"They were right here on the Ministry protecting our employees from Black, who was then supposed to be a criminal." He snapped at the reporter, who scribbled away furiously on a parchment.

"But according to the press release before the trial, we were said that only thirty Aurors were on the guard for the trial, and some of the most experienced Aurors were not amongst them. Where were they?"

"They were fired because their... err... performance wasn't as good as it used to be."

There was an instant uproar at that. Reporters recognized bullshits when they saw one.

"You fired all the experienced Aurors?"

"Was it because they were the most highly paid?"

"Are you closing down the Auror Department soon?"

The questions came like bullets and with a meek "That'll be all" Fudge almost ran from the room, two junior Aurors following him with a bit of distaste.

He wondered if cutting down the training time of the trainees at the Aurors' Academy to one and a half year would help. The training would be more concentrated and a bit short on details, but that with the likes of Alastor Moody and some old Aurors, it might be possible.

...

It seemed that Pettigrew wasn't in a hurry to be caught again, and eventually everyone admitted that there was no point of the extra security. A rat could practically go anywhere. Christmas was approaching soon, and Harry could be found with Sirius and Dora, making a list of things Dora should do before graduating.

"Don't you think that's kind of suicidal?" she was asking Sirius doubtfully.

"Not at all! James and I did that too." The man replied indignantly. Harry's mouth fell open.

"You mean to say you and my dad hugged McGonagall in her class and got away with it?" Harry asked incredulously.

Sirius smiled fondly and replied, "Oh yeah, we were Minnie's favourite, though she'd never admit. She even patted us back."

"And nothing else?" Tonks asked with unbelief. Sirius shrugged.

"Well, she threw a stinging hex at our butts, but she was smiling. Lily thought we were sweet to do that, but she wouldn't know that it was just a dare from Moony."

"Uh... okay, but I'm definitely not kissing Flitwick's cheek, he'll hex me good for sure."

"Don't worry, Lily did that in her last class. The old chap became quite emotional. She was, after all, one of his favourites."

"Wow, you guys were really Gryffindors. Any other ideas?"

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he had an evil grin on his face.

"Here's a spell you might find handy with the Slytherins."

Andromeda appeared at that moment behind them to slap Sirius on the head.

"I'm a Slytherin, you dolt. Stop corrupting my daughter." She said with a smile. Harry snorted. It was more likely that Dora would spoil Sirius rather than the other way round.

"You are going to have a guest, Sirius." Andromeda said as their laughter died down. Sirius looked alarmed.

"Who would that be?"

"You'll see. And you two, get ready, Susan and Neville are coming in an hour."

Harry smiled at Andromeda, but Sirius was still frowning. Apparently, he wasn't expecting anyone.

Susan came first and Tonks shepherded her and Harry to her room. Susan was introduced to computer games, while Harry lay down on Tonks' bed. It was as soft as his bed, but it had a familiar, pleasant cherry like smell that he inhaled subtly. His face flushed a bit when he realized that it was the smell of Dora. Thankfully, she was busy instructing Sue on the game, so she didn't notice his pink cheeks.

"So you still want to be an Auror after school?" Susan asked Tonks and she nodded.

"That's my first choice. Of course with a useless trisexual like Fudge, who knows if I can actually get in?" she said with a bit of despair.

"Wait, how on earth can someone be...err... trisexual?" Harry asked dubiously.

"He likes to bang toads, from what I heard." She said with a snicker while Sue looked nauseated.

"Tonks, you know that's disturbing, don't you?"

They turned around to see Neville standing in the doorway.

"Neville! You almost scared us. Don't worry, I don't think Fudge would be interested with Trevor." Tonks said with a smirk. Neville's expression matched that of Susan.

As Tonks entertained her guests, Sirius was still badgering Andromeda.

"Please Meda, just tell me who is it?"

"I told you Sirius, you will see."

"But I wanna know now." Sirius whined. Andromeda gave him a 'are-you-actually-whining-about-this?' look. Sirius ignored it.

She sighed before answering. So much for a surprise.

"Jennifer. Jennifer Dawes."

Sirius looked like someone slapped him on the face. For a moment, he looked angry, but then it was replaced by genuine worry.

"How... how did you find her?" he asked quietly.

"I have my means, Sirius."

"Does she still look that beautiful?"

"Why don't you tell me that?"

Andromeda tried to hide a smile as Sirius turned around lightning fast to see a tall, willowy woman standing near the door.

"Hi." He managed to croak out after a minute of staring at her in shock. Andromeda quietly excused herself from the room that threatened to burst with awkwardness.

"Hi yourself." She replied in a slightly shaky voice.

"You look good." He said with a faint smile. She smiled back.

"Can't say the same to you. You still have a lot to recover."

They stared at each other for a long time, and it wasn't uncomfortable to either. They haven't seen each other for more than a decade and they were not in a hurry to look away. Both of them were remembering their time together and the time without each other. It was a bittersweet feeling. Finally she broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" there was a hint of accusation in her voice.

Sirius looked down, ashamed. He should have told her, but then again, he doubted if it would really have made a difference. "I thought I was protecting James and Lily. The more people knew, the weaker the protection would be. I'm sorry Jenny. For everything."

She slowly walked towards him and put an arm around his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and they would be content staying like that forever.

"So what are you doing nowadays?" Sirius asked once they let go of each other. The awkwardness was returning by a little bit.

"A simple job as an editor, a quiet life. Nothing special."

"You are special enough to cover for a simple life." He said in an attempt to lift the mood. He was rewarded with a dazzling smile. Oh Merlin! After all these years she still has that smile. How I missed that smile...

"Seeing someone?" he asked nervously, half afraid of her answer, but still accepting the fact that he couldn't expect a beautiful woman like her to stay single for so many years.

However, his breathing stopped when she stooped down and caught his lips in a warm kiss. He didn't really care if the world was destroyed or a rat has escaped to help a murderer. All he cared about was that his Jenny was kissing him again, and he would go and break out of Azkaban ten times over just for this.

On the landing above, Susan was looking at Harry in a bewildered way as Tonks cried her eyes out. Harry recognized the symptoms from his first summer here and gave Susan a reassuring look and gently guided Dora back to her room. Tonks wanted to spy on Sirius' guest, and once they kissed, she almost bawled out.

"What's wrong with her?" Neville asked with an alarmed tone while Harry nudged her to sit down.

"She... er... has a strong reaction to romantic reunions." He explained briefly, making the other two even more confused, but he decided they could wait.

"Shh Dora, it's alright. They are happy and you should be happy for them too. It's okay, don't cry..." he kept murmuring in her ear as he had an arm around her. Sniffing loudly, she finally stopped crying and managed an embarrassed smile at them.

"Stupid, ain't I?"

"Definitely stupid!" Harry said somewhat proudly.

...

The rest of the school year passed quite normally. Harry and Andromeda were thanked immensely by the Weasleys, even Ron apologized to him for being a git. He was good friends with the twins and Ginny and they actually arranged the cat fight they used as the cover story. Crookshanks won, of course, and everyone was pleased to see Mrs. Norris limping behind Filch, glaring at everyone in sight. Neville and Hannah got even closer to each other, as did Harry and Dora. Andromeda informed them that after a bit of grovelling, Jennifer and Sirius were a couple again, which wasn't really a surprise, but pleasant to know, anyway. Hermione became less uptight, and even started to enjoy some pranks. Tonks did carry out the tasks set by Sirius, one of which included turning all the Slytherins' hair pink. Harry suspected McGonagall knew who the culprit was, but she merely looked bored when Snape was loudly complaining that it must be the handiwork of a 'stupid Gryffindor'. Apparently, Tonks' hug was well appreciated. Harry promised to do the same before he graduated.

On the last day of school, Harry came across a strange looking girl, who was happily posting notes on the walls, requesting people to return her belongings.

"Err... have you lost your stuff?" he asked her politely.

"Hello Harry Potter." She greeted him with a dreamy, musical voice. "I haven't lost them, exactly. People just like to hide my things." She said quite cheerfully.

"But that's horrible!" Harry exclaimed. The girl shook her head with a smile.

"Oh, it's all good fun. But since it is the last day, I really need my belongings back."

"You need any help?" he asked dubiously. Despite her strangeness, she was quite... he couldn't find the right word for it, but he regarded her as an interesting company, to say the least.

"No thanks, it's fine." She said with another smile.

"Umm... what's your name?"

"People call me Loony Lovegood." She said a bit sadly.

"What do your friends call you?" he asked, feeling a bit angry towards the so called people.

"Oh I don't have any friends. It would be nice to have one, though." She answered cheerfully and Harry was shocked by the bluntness of the girl. Looking at her robes, he saw that she was a Ravenclaw. The so called smart people hide a girl's belonging, call her 'Loony Lovegood' and no one makes friends with her?

"My dad calls me Luna, though." She continued thoughtfully. "He said when I was born, the nargles were going in a circle around the moon. Personally I think he was full of wrackspurts at the moment because nargles don't usually go on circles, but then again, without unusual things, life would get boring, don't you think?"

Harry dumbly nodded. He had no idea what nargles and wrackspurts were, but he could see that the small Ravenclaw had a very open mind, to put it mildly.

"So you are Luna Lovegood?" he checked with her before he would forget it. She nodded. He decided to be blunt with her too.

"Does it ever bother you that you are different from the people who call you 'Loony'?" He knew if she asked it to a normal girl, she would become offended, but he knew Luna wouldn't be, and he was proven right when a big smile appeared on her face.

"Not at all. My mum once told me a quote by a muggle. 'You all laugh at me because I am different. I laugh at you because you all are the same.' In fact, I secretly enjoy the fact that they can never see the nargles attacking their heads." She added in a low, conspiratory tone. Harry laughed with her. She was an odd bird, but an amazing one at that.

"So would you like to be my friend, Luna?" he asked uncertainly. He wouldn't dare to predict the girl's behaviour or activities. To his relief, she smiled.

"Oh, sure, Harry Potter, but I'm afraid I won't be much of a good friend. After all, I never had one before." She said in a slightly worried tone that Hermione would adopt when she has revised for a test less than five times.

"Don't worry about that, I'll make sure you are the best." He replied with a grin and extended his hand. She shook it quite firmly for someone so small.

An hour later, Tonks was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Did you snog someone, Harry?"

Harry scowled at her as Neville and Susan sniggered. Hermione and Hannah were too deep in their Muggle Studies discussion to notice.

"No, I just met a girl-"

"And you want to snog her?" Susan suggested. He glared at her.

"Maybe he just fancies her." Neville tried to reason, getting a stink eye from Harry.

"No, I don't fancy anyone nor do I want to snog anyone. I just met a girl and she was really strange and blunt, but she was so interesting that I made friends with her and now I feel that it was the right thing to do."

"So you don't fancy her?" Tonks confirmed. When he shook his head, she looked a bit... relieved.

"So why do you think you mad the right choice by befriending her?" Susan asked.

"She said she didn't have any friends."

"What sort of person doesn't have any friends? Even I have a few." Neville said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hannah, who was now following their conversation.

"I mean I'm a slouch and pretty much useless guy, and still I have great friends-"

"You are not a slouch nor useless." Hannah said slowly and firmly. Neville looked quite alarmed and nodded quickly. Harry, Tonks and Susan caught each others' arm and smirked. The boy is already whipped.

"Who was the girl, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Luna Lovegood."

"Oh, her." She replied with a dismissive tone.

"Is there anything wrong with her?" he asked her.

"No, she just believes in things that do not exist." Hermione huffed.

"How do you know they don't exist?" Harry said a bit hotly. Hermione was defiant.

"Well, I didn't find them in any credible book."

Harry sighed. Hermione was very clever, but she couldn't think outside her books.

"Tell me Hermione, was there any mention of magic in the books you read before you came to know about wizards?"

Hermione shook her head thoughtfully.

"So why do you think everything that exists or happens would be recorded in a book that you have read? I know you read a lot more than all of us combined, but isn't it possible that you haven't read a few books?" he asked the deflated witch.

"Maybe what you are saying is right. But-"

"I'm not asking you to believe everything she says. Just respect her beliefs and don't put her down, okay?"

Hermione nodded a bit shamefully. "I guess I can do that."

When he turned around, he was met with six wide eyes staring at him.

"What?" he said defensively, feeling self-conscious.

"Nice speech, Harry." Susan commented. Harry grimaced at her.

The rest of the day passed with fun activities. Tonks was determined to make her last day at Hogwarts memorable and the Twins and Ginny felt that it was their duty to carry out as many pranks as possible. She snuck out to Hogsmead to bring some butterbeer and a bottle of Firewhiskey. She said that the Firewhiskey was for midnight celebration with Edward and Hestia, and possibly other roommates. Harry forgot how popular Tonks was amongst her year mates as she spent a lot of her time around him. Now as he saw her hugging almost every Seventh Year Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and some Ravenclaws and even a couple of Slytherin, and then students from lower years, he knew that she would be missed by more than a few person. He watched her as she boarded the Hogwarts Express for the last time as a student, roamed around the train to say last minute goodbyes to her friends, and finally came back to the compartment, where she burst out in tears. Harry didn't say anything. He just provided her his shoulder to lean her head on, and occasionally run his hand through her black hair. After she dried out, she looked at him with a sad smile.

"How am I going to live without you babe?" she asked with a sniff.

Harry was asking himself the same question.

A/N: Unimportant chapter, but I felt like you would like to read it. Tell me if I was right.