Chapter 25 The End and The Beginning
Harry was shaking terribly from the stress and exertion of the battle with Voldemort but he had to see Hermione. So he got up and stood between Dumbledore and Remus Lupin. The three of them held hands and apparated together to the gates of Hogwarts. Harry had to know about Hermione immediately. He couldn’t wait to get to the hospital wing so as they walked through the gates and onto the castle grounds, Harry took out his wand.
“Lumos,” he said dully, dreading the result.
In terms of magical spells, the results were pretty ordinary. Harry’s wand produced a glow of light comparable to a Muggle electric torch. Any first year student could do it. But that unspectacular glow of light from his wand told Harry that he still had his magical powers. It told him Hermione was still alive.
“I don’t understand,” Harry muttered to Dumbledore. “What happened?”
“You destroyed Lord Voldemort and saved the world from his evil plans,” Dumbledore told him.
“But I thought someone had to die to kill him,” Harry said.
“Indeed. And you were willing to sacrifice yourself. Most noble,” Dumbledore said.
“Hermione came after me, she could have died,” Harry said. “She had weakened herself to help me. I was linked to Voldemort and she was linked to me.”
“Yes, that was a terrible risk she accepted,” the old wizard said quietly.
“I don’t understand it,” Harry repeated. “No one died, except Voldemort.”
“I don’t understand it either. It is a mystery,” Dumbledore said. “But that sometimes happens with magic.”
They were stopped at the door of the hospital by Professor McGonagall.
“Madam Pomfrey and Susan Bones are working with the injured,” she told them. “The hospital is a busy place right now and Hermione is in no shape to see you, Harry. Go up to bed and get some rest. I’ll have some food sent to your room. You can see Hermione in the morning.”
Professor McGonagall escorted Harry to Gryffindor tower. He entered the common room and collapsed into a chair, unwilling to walk up another flight of stairs to get to his room.
“Harry, are you alright mate?” Ron asked when he came in a few minutes later.
Harry opened his eyes and looked up at his friend.
“Is Luna OK?” Harry asked.
“She’s fine, Harry,” Ron said. “Thanks to you, we saved her. How’s Hermione?”
“She’s alive, Ron,” Harry said quietly. “We’re both alive… and I don’t understand it.”
“What?” Ron said in confusion, “were you expecting someone to die?”
“Voldemort gave up his mortality. He wasn’t really a living creature anymore. He was different. Like an opposite form of life, anti-life,” Harry explained. “Someone had to die to destroy him. That’s what the books said. But he’s gone and no one died.”
Harry looked beyond Ron and saw Ginny.
“You promised me you would keep her safe!” Harry said angrily. “She could have died!”
Ginny looked as if she might cry. “You lied to me Harry Potter!” Ginny said defensively. “You said there was a chance that you could be killed. But you didn’t tell me you were going to sacrifice yourself! Hermione told me all about The Brown Plan. I never agreed to help you commit suicide!”
“She could have been killed! She could have been killed with me!” Harry shouted.
“She would have died without you Harry!” Ginny argued. “If you died she would die.”
“You don’t know that!” Harry snapped.
“She believed it!” Ginny said crying. “I couldn’t do it Harry! I just couldn’t sit there and watch her go through it! She was breaking up! I had to let her go to you. I had to help her…”
“Harry, calm down! Relax. It’s all Okay,” Ron said patting him on the back, “Voldemort’s gone and you both lived!”
Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “How did you and Hermione find us?” he asked Ginny.
“She used that silly wedding charm, Cognoscere Mea Vita,” Ginny said shaking her head. “In her hand, it’s like a global Harry Potter finder. She did it here and she knew you were about two hundred and fifty miles south of us. We took your Firebolt and ran out of the castle. Then we apparated to the railway station at Leeds. She had been there before. At Leeds, she did the Cognoscere charm again. She said she could tell we were getting closer because her wand was a bit hot. Then we flew west on the Firebolt until we saw a black stone tower like a piece from a wizard’s chess set. It was in a run down Muggle industrial area and looked a bit out of place. Then we saw Dad. He said the magical barrier around the tower had collapsed. Wizards from the Ministry were popping in all over the place.”
Ron helped Harry to bed. And Harry collapsed in exhaustion.
“You may come in and see her now Harry,” Madam Pomfrey said when Harry arrived at the hospital the following morning. “But be gentle with her,” she added sternly. “She’s very upset.”
Harry slowly approached Hermione’s bed. She looked as though she had been crying.
“I’m sorry, Hermione,” he began. “I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to leave you. I love you. But I had to destroy Voldemort. We couldn’t live as long as he survived. He would have kept coming after us. I had to do it. I didn’t want to leave you.”
Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She let Harry embrace her.
“I planned on dying,” Harry confessed. “I’m sorry. I hoped you could carry on without me. I thought it was the only way to protect you from him. But…you came after me… and you saved my life,” Harry stammered. “For a moment… I thought you had died. I felt horrible. I thought you had died … in my place.”
“I’m sorry Harry,” Hermione said tearfully. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Hermione dissolved into tears and sobbing, saying over and over I’m sorry, I’m sorry..
Harry could not understand why she was apologizing!
He had left her to grieve while he had gone off to save the world and she had come after him and saved his life! There was no reason for her to be sorry. He held her and stroked her hair.
“It’s Okay Hermione,” he said softly. “Voldemort is destroyed. And we both lived. It’s alright. I love you. It’s alright.”
“I didn’t know, Harry. I didn’t know,” she stammered.
“Didn’t know what?” Harry asked.
“I was late but I thought it was just stress, just nerves,” she explained haltingly. “I did a terrible thing… but…I swear…I didn’t know.”
“You weren’t late! You saved my life,” Harry said kissing her. “We both lived!”
“That’s not it,” she sniffed. “I lost…” she sobbed. “I lost… the…our…I lost our baby.”
And she cried and cried and cried.
Three Months Later…
Harry awoke and sat up in the King-sized bed of the Honeymoon Suite of The Pumpkin Patch Bed and Breakfast. Hermione was looking out the window. She was wearing a filmy negligee that showed all of the features of her slender figure.
“Hermosa Hermione, what’s so fascinating outside?” Harry asked her as he put on his glasses to get a better look at her beautiful body. He was wearing only the bottoms of his pajamas and he thought about taking them off again.
“Do you remember those people from AHEM?” she asked.
“The Association of House Elf Masters,” Harry replied, “Yes, what about ‘em?”
“I think they’ve gotten their lynch mob pulled together,” she said with a sigh.
Harry and Hermione flew off into the moonlit night on Harry’s Firebolt. They were soon sorely wishing they on had more clothing, but they had each other for warmth and comfort. And no one could fly as fast as Harry and Hermione Potter when they were using sympathetic magic.
Seven Years Later…
Hermione looked down the railway track and thought. I can see the smoke of the train that’s coming from Hogsmeade. This has been an exhausting day! I got up before dawn, walked the dog, prepared breakfast, got the girls dressed, took the girls to Molly’s Coddling Daycare Center transformed into a dove, flew to London, had a gynecological exam at St. Mungo’s, did two hours of volunteer work in pediatrics, spent all afternoon arguing with those jerks in the Wizengamot and now THIS.
She couldn’t help but think about her girls. Justice is four going on eighteen. She’s a beautiful child with bright green eyes like Harry and long brown hair like Hermione, except it isn’t all bushy and unmanageable! She and her best friend, Evette Weasley, want to start experimenting with makeup! They’ll be heartbreakers when they get to Hogwarts. Colleen is two going on three with brown eyes like Hermione and black hair like Harry that’s impossible to keep orderly. Her first three words were: DaDa, Molly and Accio. I think she’ll be a very talented witch. She is certainly showing it early. (I wanna wan, mommy! I wanna wan!) She’s going through a clinging to mommy stage that really delays the drop off at Molly’s. Emmeline, the baby, has brown eyes and brown hair. Finally! I was beginning to think she was going to stay bald! She’s got an appetite like a pig. I hope Molly hasn’t broken down and given her another bottle just because I’m a little bit behind schedule. My breasts are beginning to ache.
Speaking of pain! Those people in the Wizengamot can be such stodgy old slugs! It took all afternoon to get permission to open a school in the Free Elf Village. And it isn’t going to cost the Ministry of Magic a Knut!
Now I see the headlight of the train.
I expected some opposition to the Elf Rights Campaign, but why couldn’t those people come up with a better way of expressing themselves!
“This is damned uncomfortable!” she shouted. “You tied me up and put me on this railway track without even a pillow! I’m pregnant!” (Again. Sigh.) “My back is killing me!”
Oh no, I think I can see the silhouette of the locomotive.
“This is so… so… cliché!” she shouted. If I could just reach my wand… These ropes don’t leave much wiggle room. My belly’s too big. And these breasts, I am such a cow! I could apparate away if it wasn’t for this stupid anti-apparation charm around my neck. I could transform into a bird and wriggle out these ropes. But silly me, I followed the law and registered my animagus form. They read about it and were ready for me! They had a transformation blocking charm too.
“Harry where are you?” she pleaded. I could use a heroic Auror right now! Molly must be expecting me. She’ll be searching the sky for a white dove. Oh Lord, I hope she’s told Harry I’m late!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
She screamed as the tracks jumped beneath her.
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
OW that hurts!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
I can’t die here!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
I’ve got projects to complete!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
I’ve got classes to teach!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
Patients to heal!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
The girls need me!
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
“HARRY!!!” she screamed.
BANG BANG … BANG BANG
CRACK!
With a horrible jerk that made her stomach flip, she was yanked off the track by a summoning spell and into Harry’s arms at the last second.
“Hermosa Hermione! What’s up?” Harry shouted as the train roared past.
“Oh Harry!” she gasped. “It’s about time you got here! That was a pretty rough snatch. I’m pregnant you know.”
“That thing you were doing there on the railway track looked like it could be dangerous,” Harry commented.
“Those people from AHEM tried to kill me!” she exclaimed.
“Excellent!” Harry said happily. “Now I have an excuse to arrest them! Do you know exactly who tried to do you in?”
“Yes! …”
“Great!” Harry interrupted. “You must tell me all about it this evening. Let’s get the girls and go home! I’m starving! What’s for supper?”
Latest Reports…
Ron and Luna got married and went into the publishing business. They revived the Quibbler and are busy searching the world for bizarre creatures. Ron managed to capture a Crumple-Horned Snorkack near Savukoski, Finland a few months ago.
Ginny Weasley has been in no hurry to settle down. She dumped Neville Longbottom and quite a few other boys since then. As chaser and captain of the league leading Appleby Arrows Quidditch team she is quite famous. Her singing career is really taking off too. You can often hear the ethereal sounds of her group Divination on the Wizarding Wireless Network. Lately she’s been seen a lot with Kingsley Shacklebolt. There’s quite an age difference between them but being the Minister of Magic he is the most eligible bachelor in the British Wizarding community.
Fred and George Weasley are making a successful go of their joke shop. Ironically, their current hot seller is a completely non-magical item, a Muggle-style T-shirt that says: “Ginny Weasley’s Ex-Boyfriend above a cartoon-style broken heart.
Percy Weasley is still involved in politics but he no longer has an exalted position at the Ministry of Magic. He now works as the recorder of deeds for the village of Hogsmeade.
At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore passed away quietly in his sleep and Professor McGonagall became the Headmistress. Apparently Lord Voldemort’s death broke the curse that was on the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor’s job. Bill Weasley still holds that position and he is also the head of Gryffindor House. Fleur Weasley is the Potions instructor and Professor Binns is now the head of Slytherin. It’s thought that Professor McGonagall was trying to push Binns to “move on”, but it looks like he has reluctantly accepted his new duties and will probably hold the post for a long long time.
Narcissa Malfoy relocated her family to Greece, but the simple life of a shepherd did not appeal to Lucius, even though she had purchased property with a lovely stand of olive trees. Lucius Malfoy took them to Mesopotamia to hook up with an old acquaintance. Together the evil wizards made plans to murder the Potters and take over the British Ministry of Magic. Things were going fine until Draco and Lucius drank a bit too much and made some disparaging comments about Woggs and Ragheads that their host found offensive. In the ensuing fight, Lucius and Al-Hashish were killed and Draco was reduced to a gibbering drooling fool. Narcissa takes loving care of her boy, feeding him with a spoon and keeping his diaper dry. She had to hire a Muggle to help take care of the sheep and rumor has it this man is taking care of her needs too.
Harry and Hermione haven’t made it to Mexico yet but they’ve been studying tourist brochures for several years now and you can expect them to visit Cancun within a year or two. (Hermione esta una bruja muy hermosa!)
Hermione keeps herself busy taking care of the girls, campaigning for better treatment of House Elves, volunteer nursing, and substitute teaching at Hogwarts (mostly Transfiguration, Charms, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Astronomy, Muggle Studies and Herbology but if pressured she can teach any of the other courses too, except for Divination).
Harry is doing well in his job as an Auror and was recently promoted. He’s a loving father who takes good care of his daughters. His only regret is that he never had a son like the one he saw in the mirror of Erised on the day he realized that he loved Hermione.