Final chapter!

Hermione:

Harry had loaned her his invisibility cloak. Ron and Harry stood in the chamber connected to the Great Hall. This was McGonagall's big moment and the trio didn't want to be present in a way that would have been distracting.

The castle was back to its former glory. All the suits of armor were in their original posts. There were no signs of damage to the paintings or statues. The structural damage was fixed. Everything was in place for a spectacular school year.

McGonagall nodded in Hermione's direction just before the students entered. The noise of hundreds of students was cacophonous. There were lots of smiles and laughter. As though the events of the four months ago were but a memory.

Students chatted among themselves as they waited for the first-years. Flitwick then appeared with a line of young students waiting to be sorted.

"Thank you, Filius," she said. "We're going to do things a little differently this year. I'm going to talk first."

She addressed the students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Some of the youngest minds are not aware of the great tragedy that befell our beloved school. We will be having a memorial service around Halloween to honor the names of those who lost their lives on this ground. Today is a day of celebration.

The hat will have much to say momentarily about houses, but here is what I will say: Your house is only part of your identity at Hogwarts. You may have a heart of gold and brave as a lion. You may be cunning but also have untapped amounts of compassion. You may be bold and smart. Ambitious and intellectual. You can be a combination of so many different qualities that each house values. If you end up in Slytherin, you are not destined to pursue the dark arts as previously attributed. When the Sorting Hat calls out a house, that is only one choice being made for you. How you act throughout your time at Hogwarts matters more than where you go to bed every night. I hope I am making myself clear."

The faculty applauded and some of the students joined in.

"One of the many new things this year is a code of conduct contract every student is going to sign. The parchment is not charmed in any way and it is only binding in the moral sense. Every student, regardless of magical lineage and racial background is expected to show equal respect to one another. Name-calling involving words such as "mud-blood" or the making of unsubstantiated claims about dark magic residing in a family will result in a verbal warning. Hexes or violence related to such behavior will result in a written warning and letter home to their parents. If the student shows an unwillingness to learn from their actions, as decided by their heads of house, the student will be expelled. I am not going to abide by any behavior that promotes violence at this school. If there is any chance for another Voldemort to never come to power again, it lies in making sure everyone feels welcome and safe at Hogwarts."

There was more applause from the faculty and a surprisingly large amount from the students.

"I think I have done enough blabbering for now. Let the sorting begin."

"Thank you," the Sorting Hat said. "Another round of applause for our new headmistress and my favorite hat-stall! I can tell she did a lot of learning over the summer. I can't wait to see what she has planned for the rest of the year!"

Several Gryffindors stood up and applauded. Slowly the rest of the school joined. Only a few Slytherins remained seated.

McGonagall looked deeply moved. She wiped a tear away from her face and smiled.

The hat sang a song about the different houses. There was no warning or anything odd. It could have been the song sung at Hermione's sorting.

The scared first-years were sorted. "Amber Arken" was sorted into Hufflepuff. The first Gryffindor was a "Grace Creevy." The first Slytherin was a "John Dale." The first Ravenclaw was a "Simon Beard." The tables exploded in cheers as each student joined their house.

"Let the feast begin!" McGonagall said and clapped her hands.

Food appeared on the tables. McGonagall stepped aside and opened the door. Ron and Harry stepped away and Hermione stepped in.

"I don't have long," McGonagall said. "You know the way out from here, right?"

"Through the tapestry and down two flights of stairs," Ron said. "Got it."

Hermione hugged her gran. "You were brilliant!"

"Thank you."

"I'll be back on Sunday for dinner to find out how the first week went."

"I look forward to seeing you, dear."

"We'll let you get back to it," Harry said. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Harry."

McGonagall stepped back into the Great Hall. They quickly used the passageway to get out.

"I wonder how many times she rehearsed that speech," Ron said.

"Until she had it memorized, I bet," Harry said.

"That is how I would have," Hermione said.

They made their way to the entrance hall. A shining white light was at the open entrance door. Wands were raised as they approached it cautiously. It was none other than Dumbledore.

"I couldn't miss an opening feast," he said with a smile.

Harry stepped forward. "I don't understand. Are you a ghost?"

"As you have learned from your travels, no magical rule is set in stone," he said.

Dumbledore turned to Hermione. "I was right to depend on you. Trelawney shared one other prophecy: 'The lover of the chosen one's best friend will ultimately save the day and usher in a new era of compassion in the wizarding world.' She said."

"You went to your grave with a few secrets," Ron said.

"You three are destined for many more great things with my wonderful Minerva in charge of our beloved school."

"Albus?"

McGonagall had somehow silently opened the door.

"I wanted to make sure you three got out all right. I never expected you to be here."

She stepped across the hall. Dumbledore regarded her.

"I won't say I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark, because I'm not my dear," Dumbledore said and reached toward her. "You will learn from my mistakes and do better."

His hand went through her face.

"I promise," she said.

"I love you all," he said and winked at them.

He looked to the sky and turned into stars that lit up the night.

McGonagall put arms around Hermione. Ron and Harry stood close.

"To great things," Hermione said.

Minerva McGonagall held her close. "Great things together."

THE END

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading. It has been a tremendous pleasure writing this. Please keep reading and reviewing! Thank you again!