Harry Potter was screaming in pain. He had suddenly realized this fact only a moment ago, although he was now sure that he had been screaming for quite some time. He writhed and cried out again, the pain centered in his scar was so intense. Hours passed, perhaps days or even years, and the pain slowly began to fade. As it receded, Harry gradually became aware that he was lying on something rather soft. He also came to the realization that he was not the only one screaming.
When the throbbing in his forehead reached a somewhat manageable level, Harry somehow found the strength to open his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his vision, before his eyes focused on the figure of a man who was sitting a short distance away. The first thing Harry noticed was the man’s fingernails. They were extremely long - so long, in fact, that they reminded him of how he had always pictured the fingernails of a long-dead corpse, ever since he had learned that fingernails continue to grow even after death.
Harry’s eyes traveled warily up the man’s arms, afraid of what he would find when he reached his face. His black hair and beard were long and unkempt, but what caused Harry’s breath to catch in his throat was the sight of the man’s eyes. He would know those mischievous grey eyes anywhere, although they now lacked the haunted look which had always been there in the past.
“Sirius?” Harry whispered disbelievingly. The man started, and looked down at him, a smile lighting up his face.
“Harry!” exclaimed the voice of Sirius Black. “I was starting to get worried there.”
“How-? Where-? When-?” Harry stammered. “Am I dead?”
“No more dead than I am,” Sirius laughed. Harry’s heart sank; he couldn’t believe his godfather was joking at a time like this.
“Sirius, I’m not playing around,” said Harry.
“I’m not either,” Sirius answered. “Do you really think you’d be in that much pain if you were already dead? And speaking of, are you feeling well enough to stand?” Harry nodded and pushed himself into a sitting position.
“I think so,” he muttered, looking around for the first time. There were three other men lying on the floor, he realized, and it took him a moment to recognize the one nearest him - the one who was still thrashing about and screaming in pain - as Remus Lupin.
“Is Remus all right?” he asked worriedly.
“I think so,” Sirius replied, but his own concern was evident in his tone. “You were just like that for a long time too. Actually, you were both a lot worse, which is why I cast Cushioning Charms on the floor so you wouldn’t hurt yourselves even more.”
“Thanks,” Harry breathed as his eyes traveled to the other prone figures. “What about Voldemort?”
Sirius shook his head in amazement. “I don’t know what you did to him, but whatever it was, it’s working. Come have a look.” He gave Harry a hand up, and led him over to where what was left of Voldemort lay. Harry gasped in shock as he caught sight of the rapidly-decaying body of his lifelong enemy.
“He stopped twitching over an hour ago,” Sirius explained. “Of course, I kicked him while he was down a fair few times before then. He’s definitely dead now, but his body still seems to be breaking down. Same thing with that big bloke that came in with Moony. Oh, and before I forget, I found this on him. Thought you might want it back.” He handed Harry his wand.
“Thanks,” Harry murmured, his eyes still on Voldemort’s corpse as he took the wand. “Are you sure Voldemort’s really dead, though? I mean, if we’re still alive, couldn’t his soul have escaped like it did when I was a baby?”
“He’s dead, Harry,” Sirius said solemnly. “You’re right; his soul, or his essence, or whatever you want to call it, did try to escape, but it just sort of dissolved into nothing as soon as it left his body.”
Harry nodded in acknowledgement. “What is this place?” he wondered aloud. “I mean, how can we be alive if these two-” he gestured toward the pair of decaying bodies, “-and everybody else who’s ever gone through that veil have died?”
Sirius shrugged. “No idea. All I know is that it’s not going to be easy to get out of here.”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked.
“I mean that it took a lot of effort just to be able to move one corner of that bloody veil from this side. I was pretty surprised to see Voldemort standing right there, especially since Remus and that big bloke had just tumbled in here, but I couldn’t do much because I couldn’t move any more than just a corner of the veil. So, I did the only thing that made sense: I reached out, grabbed the end of Voldemort’s wand, and broke it in half. Then I fell back inside here feeling like I’d spent all day lifting weights.”
“You did that?” Harry asked in surprise. “You saved my life, Sirius. I’d just hit my head, and he would’ve killed me before I had a chance to get my bearings and move.”
“What’s a godfather for?” Sirius replied with a grin. “What I want to know, though, is when did Voldemort get here?”
“He was here the whole time,” Harry answered, a little confused.
“He was?” Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise. “How come I didn’t see him, then?”
Harry frowned. “Sirius?” he asked hesitantly. “What do you remember after you fell through the archway?”
“I don’t really remember falling through,” Sirius answered thoughtfully. “I remember I was dueling with Bella, and she slipped a curse past my shield. It hit me in the chest, and- and the next thing I remember was opening my eyes and trying to get back through the veil. I found out I could only lift a corner of the bloody thing, and I just told you the rest. Why? Was I out for a long time?”
“Sirius, I- you-” Harry struggled to find the right words. How did you tell somebody that they had been missing and presumed dead for two years when they didn’t even know any time had gone by at all?
“What’s wrong?” Sirius asked.
“You fell through that veil two years ago, Sirius,” Harry explained. As the initial shock of seeing his godfather again began to wear off, he felt tears beginning to prick the corners of his eyes. “I tried to come after you, but everybody said you were dead, and Remus held me back.”
Sirius paled momentarily before he let out a loud, barking laugh. “Wait a minute; everybody thought I was dead just because I fell through that archway?” he asked incredulously.
“Well... yeah, I guess so,” Harry answered.
Sirius laughed again and grabbed Harry by the shoulder, turning him around to face the stone archway that stood near the end of the long rectangular room. “Do you see that, Harry?” he asked solemnly. “It’s a curtain. A curtain! Here’s a life lesson for you from your godfather: it would take a whole lot more than a bloody curtain to kill off Sirius Black!”
Harry was surprised to find himself chuckling along with Sirius at the absurdity of assuming that he had been killed by a piece of cloth.
“You have no idea how good it feels to see you again, Sirius,” Harry said after a moment. He wasn’t a bit surprised to find that his voice was choked with emotion.
Sirius shook his head slightly. “I think I might. It’s good to see you again too, Harry, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s been very long to me.” He pulled Harry into a warm hug, and Harry basked in the joy of having his godfather back in his life. As they broke apart, Harry spotted something lying on the floor near the stone archway.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“What’s what?” Sirius replied, turning to look where his godson was pointing.
“That,” Harry repeated as he walked over and picked the object up. It was a paper airplane. He furrowed his brow in confusion.
“Is there anything written on it?” Sirius asked when he saw what Harry was holding. Harry unfolded the parchment and quickly began to read the message.
Dear Harry,
You have no idea how badly I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish I’d told you earlier, when I had the chance to do it right, but I just couldn’t accept the idea of really losing you. I’m sorry for not telling you how I really feel. Either way, I guess you know now.
You’ll be glad to know that we’re all fine - physically, anyway. Dumbledore showed up not long after you fell through the veil, and he and the Order managed to capture basically all of the Death Eaters. So you can rest easy knowing that we’re all safe.
We miss you already, Harry. I miss you already. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you the way you saved me.
Love Always,
Ginny
“What’s it say?” asked Sirius.
“It says they miss me,” Harry answered. In a quieter voice, he added, “It says she misses me.”
“She?” Sirius interrupted, raising his eyebrows. “Who is this she?”
Harry smiled slightly. “Ginny,” he answered simply.
“Ginny Weasley?” Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows even further. “Little Ginny?”
“Not so little anymore, Sirius,” Harry chuckled. “Two years, remember?”
“Right,” said Sirius. “So, how long has this been going on?”
“More or less ever since I lost you,” Harry answered honestly. “We’ve only been dating since Christmas, though. Anyway, she says that everyone’s fine. Dumbledore showed up with the Order and they captured the Death Eaters.”
“The good news just keeps coming, doesn’t it?” Sirius exclaimed. He paused for a moment before observing, “I think Moony’s starting to come back around.” It was only then that Harry noticed that the anguished screaming had faded away and disappeared. He whipped around to see his former professor giving his head a slight shake, as though he was trying to clear it.
“Remus?” Harry asked tentatively as he slipped Ginny’s letter into his pocket and followed Sirius over to where their friend lay. After a long moment, Remus’ eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Harry.
“What happened?” he mumbled.
Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. “You nearly bowled me over coming through that archway, that’s what happened.” Remus’ head whipped around to stare at Sirius in wide-eyed disbelief.
“Padfoot?” he whispered. His face, which was already quite pale, lost all color, and Harry worried that he might faint.
“Surprised to see me?” Sirius asked casually. “Well, I guess that makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“How is this possible?” Remus croaked.
Sirius shrugged. “You’ve got me. I was hoping you could tell us that; you always were the smart one, Moony.”
“No, just the slightly more well-behaved one,” Remus corrected with a ghost of a smile. He sounded like he was so exhausted that he could barely even speak. Suddenly his face took on an expression of panic. “Where’s Greyback?” he asked urgently.
“Was that Greyback you were wrestling with?” Sirius asked in surprise.
“Who’s Greyback?” asked Harry.
“Yes, he’s the one I was fighting,” Remus confirmed in a labored voice, ignoring Harry’s question for the moment. “What happened to him?”
“He’s right there, mate,” Sirius responded, pointing to the decayed corpse that lay several feet to Remus’ left. Remus slowly turned his head, and sighed with relief when he saw the state of his adversary. After resting for a few moments, he turned to Harry.
“Fenrir Greyback is-”
“Was,” Sirius interrupted.
“Was-” Remus agreed, “-probably the most vicious werewolf of modern times.”
“He was the one who bit Moony when he was just a little kid,” Sirius supplied.
Remus gave a tired nod from where he still lay on the floor, and when he spoke, it was in a voice filled with disgust. “Greyback believed that werewolves should give in to their desire for human flesh, and he especially liked going after children. He used to position himself near neighborhoods or play parks just before transforming, in hopes of finding children to either kill or infect. Then he would do his best to lure the survivors away to live like animals in the forest with him. I was lucky enough to have parents who still cared for me after I was bitten, but most infected children were abandoned by their families, making Greyback’s job ridiculously easy. His plan was to eventually have enough werewolves to be able to overthrow the Ministry. Without him to interfere, perhaps the others will be willing to listen to reason.”
Harry shuddered at the thought of Greyback’s plans. “Remus, are you feeling all right?” he asked concernedly when he realized that Remus was still lying down. “I was able to get up and walk around after I’d been awake as long as you have.”
“I’m fine,” Remus mumbled. “Just exhausted. But we have to get out of here; full moon’s tonight.” At the mention of the full moon, Harry automatically checked his watch, but was dismayed to find that it had stopped working.
“We can’t go anywhere until you’ve got a bit of strength back,” said Sirius. “It’ll be hard enough trying to get back through that curtain without Harry and me having to carry you.”
As Sirius explained the difficulty of getting back out through the veil, Harry took the opportunity to look around the room. It was large and rectangular, and completely bare except for the crumbling stone archway that stood near one end. There were no torches or candles or light sources of any kind that he could see, and yet the entire room was bathed in a soft, comforting light that didn’t seem to come from anywhere in particular.
Gazing down toward the far end of the room, Harry suddenly noticed that something was different about the far wall. He couldn’t be certain in the low light, but it looked like- He took a few steps toward it and held out his wand.
“Lumos,” he whispered, causing bright white light to burst from his wandtip and illuminate the far wall. Now able to see quite clearly, he let out a sigh of relief; there was a door. Perhaps they wouldn’t have to go back through the veil after all.
“Nox,” he muttered, extinguishing his light. “Sirius, did you know there’s a door down there?”
“What?” Sirius asked, looking up from his conversation with Remus. “Where?”
“Down there.” Harry pointed to the door. “It’s kind of hard to see because it’s black and the walls are dark gray, but it’s definitely there.”
Sirius squinted in the dim light. “Remus, are you all right there for a minute?”
“Peachy,” Remus grunted.
Sirius and Harry jogged down to the far end of the room, where they found the door. Harry tried to open it, but it was locked.
“Alohomora,” Sirius muttered as he pointed his wand at the lock. He tried the door again, but it still wouldn’t budge. Frowning, he pulled a knife out of his pocket that looked exactly like the one he had given to Harry for Christmas during his fourth year, except for the fact that it looked far more worn. He slipped the blade into the crack between the door and its frame, and slid it quickly down from top to bottom. Withdrawing it, he threw his shoulder against the door, but it stood firm.
“I think I know where we are now,” Harry said quietly as he caught sight of Sirius’ knife and realized that the blade had melted.
“How?” Sirius asked. He swore under his breath when he glanced down and saw his ruined knife.
“Because that same thing happened to my knife when we came here at the end of fifth year,” Harry explained. “We found this locked door and Alohomora wouldn’t open it, and then I tried my knife but the blade just melted. We’re inside the locked room. Come on, let’s get back to Remus; that door’s not opening any time soon.” He started walking back the way they had come, but was stopped short by Sirius’ voice.
“Reducto!” Sirius’ spell hit the center of the locked door, but he may as well have blown on it for all the good it did. He tried a Blasting Curse and a couple of other spells Harry didn’t recognize, but nothing helped; the door remained firm and immovable.
“Looks like you’re right,” Sirius grumbled as he followed Harry back to where Remus was now sitting up. “Feeling better?” he called.
“A bit,” Remus answered. “No luck with the door?”
Sirius shook his head. “We’ll have to get out through the archway, but we won’t be able to do that if we’re carrying you. So, while you rest, why don’t you two fill me in on everything I’ve missed over the past two years?”
“Why don’t you tell us how you managed to spend two years in here and only wake up when we came back to the Ministry for another battle?” Remus countered.
Sirius shrugged. “No idea. Is there even a spell that could put me to sleep for that long? I mean, obviously there must be, but-”
“The False Death Curse,” Harry said suddenly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. You were able to survive for so long because you were in suspended animation.”
“And Bella wouldn’t really want to be responsible for killing off the last of the Black line, would she?” Sirius mused. “It does make sense.”
“Then how did you wake up?” Remus asked.
“Lucius Malfoy hit Ron with the False Death Curse earlier, and when I tried to revive him I missed. The counter-curse went through the archway and must’ve hit Sirius,” Harry explained.
“Well, that was lucky,” Sirius chuckled.
“That still doesn’t explain why the three of us are still alive, when everyone else ever to pass through that archway has died,” Remus observed.
“It’s got to have something to do with how this room works,” said Harry. “Dumbledore told me that this room held the most terrible and wonderful power in the world - the power the Dark Lord knows not.”
“Power the Dark Lord knows not?” Sirius asked, puzzled. “Who talks like that?”
“Oh, right,” Harry said, shaking himself slightly. “For a minute there I’d forgotten that you don’t know what the prophecy about me and Voldemort actually said.”
“You know?” Remus asked in surprise.
Harry nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but....”
“Don’t worry about it, Harry. It was dangerous information; I understand why you didn’t want to spread it around.”
Harry nodded gratefully. “Basically, it said that a baby would be born with the power to defeat Voldemort, that Voldemort would mark him as his equal-” he pointed to the scar on his forehead, “-and that the baby would have ‘power the Dark Lord knows not.’ It also said that one of us would end up killing the other, although I never thought that this was how it would happen.”
“No wonder he was after you,” Sirius muttered as he glanced at what was left of Voldemort. Not much more than a pile of robes remained.
“Anyway,” Harry continued, “Dumbledore said that my power was love, because it’s the only thing Voldemort didn’t understand.”
“So this room is full of love?” Sirius asked incredulously.
“Can’t you feel it?” asked Remus. “I’d wondered why we all seemed to feel so at peace here, despite the rather large shocks we’ve just experienced. Actually, if you pay enough attention, you can almost hear the love in this room - it sounds like soothing whispers.”
“I see what you mean,” Sirius replied after listening quietly for a moment. “Still, that doesn’t explain why everybody else dies when they come in here, but we didn’t.”
“It’s because it’s my power,” Harry said softly. “I survived because love is my great power that the prophecy talked about. And you two survived because I- Well, what I mean is, I- love both of you. I guess.”
“You guess?” Sirius chuckled. Harry ignored him.
“The only thing I can’t figure out is how Sirius managed to survive in here when I’d lost my memory,” he continued.
“You what?” Sirius exclaimed. “How’d you lose-”
“We’ll explain everything later, Sirius,” Remus said placatingly. “It will take quite a while. Harry, Sirius survived because a Memory Charm only affects the mind, not the heart. Even though you couldn’t remember any of us, your love for your friends was always there. Now, I hate to put a damper on our little party here, but we really do need to get moving. Like I said, it’s the full moon tonight, and we have no idea how much time we have left before I start to transform.” He got wearily to his feet, and together the three men walked slowly toward the crumbling stone archway.
“What happened to Voldemort?” Harry asked as he approached the spot where his enemy’s body had lain.
“He must’ve finished withering away,” said Sirius. “Even his robes are gone.”
“There’s still a little bit left,” Remus observed, pointing at a tiny, black puddle on the floor. Harry bent down close to examine it.
“It’s blood,” he said after a long moment. “It’s my blood.” Shuddering at the thought, he quickly stood back up.
“If you don’t mind, Harry?” said Sirius, pointing his wand at the little puddle. Harry nodded his consent. “Evanesco.” The puddle vanished.
“Thanks,” Harry muttered.
“Ready to get out of here?” asked Sirius.
“Let’s get moving,” Remus replied. Harry nodded his agreement, and they stepped up to the stone archway. Sirius grasped the top of the right edge of the veil and pulled it to the left as hard as he could. It moved less than a foot.
“Don’t just stand there,” he grunted. “Help me!”
Harry and Remus rushed forward and grabbed onto the veil, helping Sirius pull it away from the archway. At an agonizingly slow pace, they managed to peel it back. Harry’s arms began to shake from exertion, and he had to fight the urge to let go and wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Finally, just as his arms were about to give out, they managed to create an opening large enough for him to slip through. Knowing that there was no way he would be able to keep pulling for much longer, he twisted around and ducked out of the archway. Once on the other side, he collapsed, breathing heavily for a moment, before he turned back to the veil.
Taking a deep breath, Harry grasped the edge of the veil and wrenched it back. To his surprise, he found it to be no heavier than an ordinary curtain, and Sirius and Remus were able to step out onto the dais without any difficulty.
“Well, I guess this is where I change into Snuffles,” said Sirius.
“You don’t have to do that,” Remus said quickly. “Have a look at this.” He pulled the folded up Evening Prophet out of his pocket and handed it to Sirius. Sirius’ eyes widened as he read the article detailing how he had finally been declared innocent.
“Is this for real?” he asked, his eyes searching Remus’.
“Is that the sort of thing I would joke about?” Remus responded.
“I’m free,” Sirius whispered disbelievingly. “I’m free!” Whooping and dancing around, he hopped down from the dais and began running up the stone steps toward the exit.
“Shall we?” Remus asked Harry in an amused voice. Harry nodded, laughing happily, and they took off after Sirius. They hurried back through the Department of Mysteries and into the lift, which they rode back to the Atrium.
“Where to?” Sirius asked as they stepped out of the lift.
“The Burrow,” Harry answered immediately. “The Weasleys all think we’re dead.”
“We can’t go there yet,” said Remus. “I need to be locked up for my transformation. We can do that at Grimmauld Place, and then you two can head over to the Burrow.”
“My place, then?” Sirius asked, a note of disgust in his voice as he said it. “Harry, do you want to Side-Along Apparate with me?”
Harry laughed. “I’ve got my license, Sirius.”
“Right,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “I forgot; I missed another two years.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Harry reassured him sincerely. “I’m just glad you’re back.”
“Let’s get moving,” said Remus. He disappeared with a loud crack, followed closely by Harry and Sirius.
The first thing Harry heard upon reappearing near Sirius’ childhood home was Remus yelling for him to run. It only took him a moment to realize why: the full moon was high in the night sky, bathing the street in silver light. He was preparing to Apparate away when Sirius’ voice made him pause.
“Look at yourself, Remus!” he shouted. “You’re not transforming!”
Harry took a few tentative steps toward his father’s old friends, and was relieved to see that Sirius was right. The full moon was high in the sky, but Remus Lupin was definitely not transforming into a werewolf.
“How can this be?” Remus whispered in disbelief as he looked from his perfectly human hands to the full moon shining above.
“I have no idea,” said Sirius, “but let’s get inside and try to figure this out. Then we can decide what to do next.” They crossed the street and entered the dark house, slipping silently through the entrance hall so as not to disturb Mrs. Black’s portrait, and finally arriving in the kitchen.
“Have you been trying any new treatments or anything?” Sirius asked as they sat down around the table.
Remus shook his head. “Nothing. I haven’t even had the Wolfsbane Potion for the past few months.”
“Then the only thing that could have done this is that room behind the veil,” Sirius concluded.
“What do you mean?” asked Harry.
“He’s just saying that that room is really the only unknown that we’re dealing with,” Remus explained. “But that doesn’t tell us why- Oh.”
“Oh?” Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows at his friend. “Oh, what?”
“Love destroys evil,” Remus muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. “That’s why that room killed Greyback and completely obliterated Voldemort. That’s why the pain Harry felt was concentrated in his scar - the connection between him and Voldemort was being severed. Sirius must’ve been unconscious when he was going through all that, so he wouldn’t remember it, but something had to have happened because he’s lost that haunted look that he’s had since Azkaban. And the room must have destroyed the werewolf in me. Werewolves are evil, and love destroys evil. Moony is... gone.”
“Werewolf or not, you’ll always be Moony to me,” Sirius said in a solemn voice as he gripped his friend’s shoulder.
“Thanks, Padfoot,” Remus replied, “although it’s not as if I’ll miss those transformations. It’s just a bit of a shock. I haven’t taken a stroll under the full moon as a human since I was a little boy.”
“Well, you’ll be taking plenty of them from now on,” said Harry. “And why don’t we start right now? Everybody’s probably at the Burrow, thinking we’re all dead.”
Remus shook himself slightly and got to his feet. “Right. We’d best be going. What do you think, Harry? Should we Apparate to the end of the Burrow’s lane and then walk the rest of the way?”
“Sounds good,” Harry agreed as he and Sirius stood as well. “I’d hate to land right on top of everybody and have them hex us before they realized who we are.”
“What the-?” Sirius muttered as they headed toward the front door. Harry turned to see his godfather peering at his reflection in the glass front of a large cabinet. “I look like hell. How come neither of you told me?”
“We’ve had other things on our minds,” Remus chuckled as Sirius used his wand to remove his beard and trim his fingernails. “After all, I just found out I’m no longer a ‘dangerous half-breed,’ and Harry’s in quite a hurry to find his young lady friend and assure her that he’s all right.”
“Ah, yes,” Sirius chuckled as he sat down on the floor and pulled off his boots and socks. “The lovely young redhead. James would be proud.”
“Sirius, what are you doing?” Remus asked.
“My feet hurt,” Sirius replied. “Stupid toenails are about three inches long.” He quickly trimmed the offending toenails and replaced his socks and boots before getting back to his feet. “All right; now we can go.”
They all fell silent as they reached the entrance hall and slipped out into the night. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, they Apparated away.
A moment later, Harry was strolling along the dirt lane leading to the Burrow, listening contentedly as Remus marveled at being able to look at the full moon without feeling the urge to howl at it. Before long, the large, lopsided silhouette of the Burrow came into view. Light streamed from the living room windows, but the rest of the house was dark. Harry made straight for the front door, but was stopped short by a hand on his shoulder.
“Let’s go in through the kitchen,” Sirius whispered.
“Why?” Harry asked. “They’ll let us in if we knock.”
“Apparently, the tendency to play childish and inappropriate pranks isn’t evil enough for the Love Room to destroy it,” Remus muttered. “He wants us to sneak up on them.”
“No I don’t,” Sirius protested. “I just think Harry ought to go in first, and then you ought to go in.” He grinned roguishly. “I don’t want us to sneak up on them; I want me to sneak up on them.”
“Whatever you say,” Harry whispered impatiently. “Let’s just go.” They rounded the house and slipped inside through the back door into the kitchen. Swallowing hard, Harry stepped through the doorway to the living room.
The room was filled with so many people that there were several whose chairs must have been conjured that very night. The entire Weasley family was present, along with Tyler, Hermione, Luna Lovegood and her father, Neville Longbottom and his grandmother, and Tonks. Despite the multitude of people, however, the living room of the Burrow was uncharacteristically quiet. Several whispered conversations were being held as everyone sought comfort from their loved ones.
The atmosphere was so depressing that all eyes were downcast and no one even noticed Harry’s entrance, although he really didn’t mind. His eyes sought out Ginny, who was sitting on the sofa, leaning on her mother for support and looking thoroughly miserable. He slowly stepped toward her.
“What’s that you’re holding, dear?” Mrs. Weasley whispered to her daughter. Ginny held up her tiny jade snake to give her mother a better look.
“Harry gave it to me,” she explained as she tapped it on the head, causing it to hiss softly. “That’s him telling me he loves me in Parseltongue.” Fresh tears began falling down her cheeks as she continued, “I know I wrote that note to him before we left the Ministry, but- but I never really told him how I felt.”
“Then why don’t you tell him now?” Harry asked quietly as he arrived in front of her. Ginny’s eyes snapped up to his face.
“Harry?” she gasped shakily. He nodded and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet. “How...?”
“Ginny,” he said solemnly, deciding to follow his godfather’s example, “you ought to know by now that it would take a lot more than a flimsy little curtain to kill off Harry Potter.” He broke into a smile, and Ginny laughed with delight and relief as she threw her arms around his neck
“I love you, Harry,” she whispered against his ear.
“I know,” he whispered back. “But thank you for telling me. I love you, too.”
“Remus!”
Harry released Ginny and they both turned to see Tonks launching herself at Remus, who had just entered the room. In an instant, her arms were around his neck and she was peppering his face with kisses.
“Hang on,” she said after a moment, “tonight’s the full moon.” Leaping away from him, she drew her wand and aimed it at his heart. “Who are you really?”
“Remus Lupin,” he answered calmly, as though he was completely unaware that a fully-trained Auror had him at wandpoint. “If you want proof, I can give it to you, but I doubt you’ll want everyone else to hear it.”
Without lowering her wand, Tonks stepped toward him, and he whispered something in her ear. She blushed furiously enough to make any Weasley proud and stowed her wand. Remus just chuckled at her reaction.
“But how-?”
“We’ll explain everything in a bit,” Remus said soothingly as he pulled her back into his arms.
“Welcome back, Harry,” Tyler called from across the room. This seemed to unleash a floodgate, and Harry was immediately engulfed in hugs and bombarded with questions about his and Remus’ safe return. He was trying to distinguish individual questions over the din, when a loud voice caused everyone to stop and stare at the doorway to the kitchen.
“Is this a private party, or is it all right if I join in?” asked Sirius. For a long moment, nobody moved. Then the silence was broken by none other than Luna Lovegood.
“Stubby Boardman!” she exclaimed. “Can I have your autograph?” Sirius laughed, and - much to Hermione’s consternation - conjured a quill and some iridescent ink and autographed Luna’s sleeve.
Once again, the room exploded with sound as Sirius was welcomed back and everyone tried to figure out what was going on. After several minutes, Sirius managed to quiet everyone down when he promised to tell the whole story. Harry conjured a large armchair, and Ginny curled up in his lap with her arms around his neck as Sirius began his explanation of what had happened.
Looking around the room, Harry couldn’t help but smile. His friends had all escaped yet another battle without any permanent damage. Voldemort was gone forever, Sirius was back, Remus was no longer a werewolf, and Ginny was cuddled up in his arms. Life couldn’t possibly get any better than this.