Note: Title: Epilogos (Instrumental) - Savina Yannatou, Lena Platonos
November 11th, 2150
Hogwarts
"Open your books on chapter 67, please." The professor at the front of the class says in a gentle voice. The second year obeys him swiftly. "Today we're going to talk about the Great Change. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this part of History, right?" Many students nod. "Can you tell me how things were before it?"
One student, a small girl, raises a hand.
"Tom Riddle used to be Minister of Magic and only Purebloods were allowed at Hogwarts." She says in a thin voice.
The professor nods. "Exactly. At Hogwarts and anywhere else, really." He gives her House a few points. "Tom Riddle was a dictator that used Dark and Ancient magic to perpetuate his rule for many illegal years. He segregated wizards and witches according to their bloodline." Some students let out a few whispers of indignation. The professor smiles. "Yes, unthinkable, right?" He nods to himself. "But some brave wizards and witches, and Muggles, never stopped fighting against him. If you look at your books you'll see the pictures of the Palace. The place was founded by the Muggle Petunia Evans and the Half-Blood Severus Snape. It was kept hidden for years and it used to be the safe haven for Muggleborns and Half-Bloods. They did an splendid work there, educating wizards and witches the best they could with what they had."
"Were they hiding from Tom Riddle?" A young boy asks.
"Yes." The professor answers. "They had to or else they would all be sent to Azkaban." He stops to give the words an importance. "Can anyone tell me who Petunia Evans was?"
Another girl raises her hand. "She was Lily Potter's sister!"
"Good!" The professor gives another few points. "Lily Potter, née Evans, was a Muggleborn that along with the Pureblood James Potter was persecuted by Tom Riddle. Can anyone here tell me more about this Persecution and the importance it had to what happened later when the Great Change occurred?"
The professor listens while a few kids give their versions of what happened to the Potters and then later to their son that was saved by Matteo D'Angelo. The class gets a bit too overexcited when they begin to talk about revenge and a few other things.
"Okay, class, calm down." He raises both arms, asking for silence. "Regardless Harry Potter's reasons, he came back to London to change things, didn't he?" They all agree with him. "Being a Half-Blood himself, Harry Potter fooled Tom Riddle and found a way of infiltrating the Ministry as his Auror-"
"Then he fell in love with the enemy!" A girl yells and many giggles are heard around the class.
The professor smiles.
"You can say that." He says calmly. "But now we all know that Hermione Riddle wasn't Tom Riddle's daughter, right?"
"Yes! They fought together to change things!" A boy says. Many others agree and again they get a bit too overexcited. The professor observes while they discuss theories and facts. He can discern the way some say Perfect Harmony, Dragon and wedding and phoenix.
"Indeed." The professor cuts them again, asking for attention. "I'm sure all of you heard about Harry and Hermione Potter's story." He can see the glint in all their eyes. It's been years since he started giving this class and he can't deny that this particular lesson is amazing. Everyone loves to talk about this part of History. "But what are the facts? What did Hermione and Harry do to change the Wizarding World?"
Many raise their hands. The professor chooses another boy to speak.
"They freed Society." The answer is short. The professor nods.
"How?"
"They fought Riddle and his son!" A girl says, "And they revealed the truth to the population. People were blind because of Tom Riddle's spells."
"Good." He crosses his arms, leaning against his desk. The lesson goes smoothly when there isn't a Potter in it. Their descendants are all over the Wizarding World. And if he's not mistaken, currently, one is on the third year, and another one on the fourth. "At the time Bellatrix Black took over the Ministry and began to change things. It took people a while to get used to the new Laws. Later, when Hermione Potter was elected Minister, she also made huge changes regarding not only wizards and witches but also Magical Creatures. Now, I want you all to write me a five hundred words essay on the Great Change. You have many more details in your books and I want you to retell things in your own words." He nods at the class, glad that they look excited for it. "Okay-"
"Professor?" A shy girl interrupts him. It makes him glad that she decided to speak.
"Yes?"
"Is it true?" She asks in a low voice. Everyone is paying attention.
"What?"
"That Harry and Hermione Potter vanished? That they never died? That they continue to live as two phoenixes?"
He can feel all the eyes on him. Because he's a Weasley the students often ask him this. They know the Potters and the Weasleys were close friends. Still are, in fact. But he doesn't have the answer to this question. He would bet that the only ones who know the whole truth are Harry and Hermione's children. Tilting his head, he looks at the girl.
"The best thing about legends, Idina, is that we can believe in what we want." He opens a side smile. "Do you believe they transformed into phoenixes? That they'll live forever?"
Idina looks down, the others are still in silence.
"Yes." She whispers. "They were the most powerful wizards that ever lived."
The professor smiles again. "So, there you go. You have your answer."
The end.
Note: Guys, this is it. I know I lost touch with my readers here and I'm sorry, but it was mostly because people are a bit too aggressive sometimes and that really pushed me away. I've enjoyed way more publishing my stuff at Archive of Our Own. But with the end of this story I'm not sure if I'll write more.
However, I wanna thank you all for being here on this journey. After more than 600k and 3 years, this is finally it.
I do hope you've enjoyed it in some way. I poured my heart here, so this moment is pretty intense and emotional. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you who have supported me and pushed me to end this. And for those who only appear to say bad things about what I write, I mean... fuc-
Anyways, it was a pleasure.
