“’Arry!”
Roused from his trance by the call, Harry spun around to see Hagrid striding towards him, beaming, waving theatrically.
“Good thing I caught yeh before the train set off. I just… oh look a’ me …” Hagrid paused, looked down at his enormous feet, and when he picked his head back up, Harry noticed a tear streaming down his face into his bushy beard.
He took a deep breath, wiped his nose on the back of his calloused hand, and continued, “I just wanted to tell yeh, and you two also, ‘Ermione and Ron, that I won’t ever ferget yeh all. You three better come an’ visit me, ‘Ogwarts won’t be the same without all of yeh-”
Hagrid was beginning to tear up again so all three of them seized the moment to give him a hug each. He handed Hermione a book on Magical Creatures that to her great delight, did not have teeth. To Ron, Hagrid gave a box of assorted sweets from Honeydukes.
Hagrid looked proudly at Harry and began, “I’ve got yeh a special present Harry, for all that yeh’ve done fer me these seven years.”
Hagrid sniffed loudly, handed Harry the parcel, and when he went to untie the string, Hagrid put his large hand over it and said, “No, not here, open it on the train, I don’ want to start cryin’ agin. Well you three better get goin’… go on, go. I’ll miss all yehs!”
As Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned to go to the train, Harry glanced down at the package, and then turned to see Hagrid, who was now sobbing, with sheets of tears falling from his eyes. Harry couldn’t help but remember how terrified he had been when Hagrid busted down the door of their Railview Hotel room seven years ago, before Harry had even known he was a wizard. The sight of Hagrid sobbing brought a smile to Harry’s face; he waved once more, and stepped onto the train.
Harry sat with Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny on the ride back to Kings Cross Station. As Head Boy and Girl, Hermione and Harry had to periodically leave the compartment to check up on the younger students. Once they were allowed to settle in, they sat talking about school and how Ginny and Luna were lucky to be returning next year. They discussed their futures, and how they would be spending the summer.
To Harry, it felt odd to hear the others refer to Hogwarts as school and where they lived during the summer as home. Hogwarts was home to Harry, and he was leaving it forever. He felt as if a piece of him was being taken away, leaving yet another void he didn’t believe was possible to fill. Thoughts of living with the Dursley’s until he could support himself depressed him into silence. He stared moodily out the window and watched the scenes change from rolling mountains to deserted, flat land while the others rejoiced at the thought of seeing their families again.
As the train halted to a stop, the compartment doors quickly slid open as the students rushed from the rooms to greet all those who came to welcome them back. Luna, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Hermione hurried out, leaving Harry behind wishing he could pretend he did not know they had reached the station at all, sending him right back to Hogwarts.
Hermione entered the compartment hesitantly after a few minutes had passed, and asked, “Harry are you alright? The whole way you just sat there and stared out the window.”
“I’m fine, thanks Hermione,” lied Harry, forcing a smile.
Hermione beamed at him, and took Hedwig’s cage on her way out as she said, “Here I’ll take this, you’ve got tons of stuff to carry.”
As Harry went to follow Hermione, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle emerged from their compartment, deliberately blocking Harry's path.
"Don't even start to think that this is over, Potter. Dumbledore isn't going to be there to protect his favorite student anymore. How ever will you survive?" Mocked Draco in a falsely high-pitched voice.
Harry stared at Malfoy, deciding quickly how he should deal with the situation. He pulled his wand quickly out of his back pocket, dangled it in front of Goyle's eyes, and then twirled it like a baton in front of Crabbe. "Trust me boys, I would really prefer we make this easy. Please, I'll say it once, get out of my way."
Crabbe and Goyle, showing more sense than they had all their life, backed away and into the nearest sliding door. Malfoy, however, stood staring at Harry.
Harry sighed, "I guess things never do change, do they?" And in a flash and a swift stroke of his wand, Harry had thrown Malfoy aside, knocking his cronies over in the process.
Smiling and shaking his head as he stepped out onto the platform, Harry jogged over to Ron and his family. Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly, hurried over to Harry and gave him a tremendous hug that could have easily strangled him. He could not make out any words because she was crying, however he was sure he had heard something along the lines of “poor dear, experiencing so much,” yet he could decipher no more from the sobs.
Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly, hurried over to Harry and gave him a tremendous hug that could have easily strangled him. He could not make out any words because she was crying, however he was sure he had heard something along the lines of “poor dear, experiencing so much,” yet he could decipher no more from the sobs.
Once released, Fred and George, wearing yet another pair of dragon-skin coats (this time in the shades of fire-engine red and electric blue), rolled their eyes, and came over to shake Harry’s hand fervently.
“Like the threads, Harry? We fancied a new batch of these snazzy jackets..." said Fred as he brushed off his right shoulder and then his sleeve with a grin.
“Business is booming. And with all the money we’ve made… me and Fred got you a coat too. We were deciding between an orange one, a pink one, and a green one. We decided on the pink,” said George seriously.
“Nah he’s kidding Harry. We got you a nice green one. Thought it’d bring out the color in those bee-u-tee-ful eyes of yours!”
Laughing heartily, Harry accepted the package, thankful that Fred and George had not, in fact, decided on the pink jacket. The twins moved aside to reveal Professor Lupin and Mad-Eye standing nearby.
“Hello, Harry,” said Remus, as Moody limped forward slightly.
Tilting back his hat to reveal his ever-spinning magical eye, Moody growled, “Good to see you again Potter.”
“Hi,” said Harry, still surprised by their presence. “I didn’t think you’d be“ ”
““Harry, my mum has something to tell you,” Ron interjected.
Mrs. Weasley hurried over, “Yes Harry, dear, well, I talked it over with Arthur and all the others, well we all agreed, that is if you want to, well if it’s okay with you, we have agreed that you could live with us, at the Burrow, until of course you want to move out, if you even want to move in at all“”
““Are you kidding? Of course I want to move in!” shouted Harry, startling some nearby witches. For the first time all week he felt truly happy.
“See mum, I told you there was no point in even asking, right Harry? I mean why would you want to live with those gits you’ve been stuck with every summer up ‘till now?” Added Ron with confidence.
“Wonderful! I’ll write to you’re Aunt and Uncle first thing tonight to tell them the news, oh this is just wonderful!” Mrs. Weasley added joyously.
Lupin and Moody made their way over to Harry once again, Moody’s eye swirling in its socket.
“So Potter…” Moody began, “give us a shout if you need us. Now that you’re done with school and all, I think we could find a job for you. I seem to remember you mentioning something about being an auror?” His swiveling eye slowed and focused on Harry, who couldn’t help but feel that he was being sized up by Moody. “Yeah, I think we could find you very useful for this project“”
““Not here Mad-Eye, but yes, well, I think we could work on that. I’ll owl you sometime this week, Harry,” said Lupin, smiling brightly, revealing the premature creases in his forehead. “You have had almost as much, if not more, experience than most anyway, right?”
Harry did not answer, though Lupin understood his thoughts. Naturally, Harry would be absolutely delighted to be an auror. It had been the only career he had ever given thought to anyway.
Happier than he had been in months, Harry wheeled around to find Hermione smiling meekly with tears spilling over her red cheeks.
“Wha… What’s wrong Hermione?” Asked Harry utterly perplexed.
“Oh Harry, I’m being stupid crying and all, but all these goodbyes, I know it’s not really goodbye, but for some reason I feel like it is and that I won’t see you ever again,” she explained amidst sniffles.
“Don’t be ridiculous Hermione… of course I’m going to see you. I’m living at the Burrow! With Ron! You can visit any time you want, I’m sure Ginny would be thrilled to have another girl in a house full of boys, right?”
“Yes, yes, you’re right, I was just being silly. Anyway…” she said as she turned to see her parents calling her over, “my parents are waiting. I’m going to miss you so much Harry, I really am, I’ll talk to you really soon, ok?”
She put her arms around Harry’s neck, kissed him on the cheek, turned, and was lost in the crowd.
“C’mon Harry, we’ve got to get going!” Called Ron as he picked up his trunk and stowed Pig’s cage under his arm.