The Calm Before the Next Chaos
"Red, stay still. You're not done with the makeup yet," Astoria said as she and Luna surrounded the now pitiful dragon, who was squirming on the floor completely trapped inside what looked like a pastel-colored princess dress, a small golden tiara, while both girls painted his cheeks bright red.
Even though his scales were already red, they somehow seemed perfectly capable of telling the difference.
Of course, if Red could, he would have swallowed the paint by now, but at the moment he had a muzzle on, and his body was bound by golden chains that kept him from escaping.
It had already been a few weeks since Red had nearly driven the magical world insane with his idiotic crusade of revenge, something that had almost gotten Harry into trouble for leaving his wand lying around.
But he got away with it, since he and the others managed to fix everything in time.
Or perhaps it was because, thanks to that whole incident, the Ministry didn't have time to keep its eyes on his family.
They were too busy with all the trials of the pure-blood idiots who had destroyed Hogwarts, taking advantage of the fact that the Minister had no time to worry about rescuing his supporters.
By the time he realized what was happening, half of them were already on their way to Azkaban, thanks to a decisive push from the Neutral Faction and Dumbledore's faction, which at this point supported Fudge but still held quite a grudge against those Dark supporters.
So Fudge lost most of his wealthiest supporters, leaving the Dark faction with only a handful of members, like an empty shell.
As Harry walked past the living room, he heard the chaos Astoria, Luna, and Red were causing. He glanced at Red for a moment, who was still writhing around, trying unsuccessfully to break free.
But that wasn't the real problem.
Because if Harry focused hard enough...
Harry quickly shook his head to stop listening to the thoughts of this idiotic dragon, who seemed to be living inside his own fantasy.
With a wave of his hand, he completely blocked that new and completely useless ability that let him hear Red's thoughts, which wasn't the same thing as understanding him.
In the living room, it wasn't just Astoria and Luna.
Tommy was also there, putting together something that looked very much like a Rubik's Cube, except it looked far more dangerous.
Because every time he twisted it, it seemed on the verge of exploding.
And judging by how Tommy vanished in a burst of speed every single time he turned it before hiding behind a nearby piece of furniture, it would probably do exactly that.
Harry decided it was better not to ask.
His mother, Wanda, sat beside the window, calmly sipping a cup of tea while enjoying the sunlight streaming in, looking perfectly serene, almost unshakable.
Meanwhile, Terra, the tiny fairy, and Dee, in her little snake form, sat on the table in front of her, sharing a cupcake much bigger than both of them.
Harry almost joked that she looked like a retired old lady enjoying her tea.
But today he didn't feel like being turned into a baby, since he actually had something important to do.
Still, as though his mother had sensed that mischievous thought just from the look in her son's eyes, Wanda gave him a glance that felt vaguely threatening, one only the Scarlet Witch could give.
Harry immediately looked away before his mother decided to read his thoughts.
"Here," Billy said as he walked into the living room carrying today's Daily Prophet and handed it to Harry. Billy didn't seem interested in reading it himself, simply picking up the book of enchantments he'd left on the sofa before finding a spot as far away from Tommy as possible so he could continue reading in peace.
Harry read the newspaper as soon as he took it, seeing on the front page the photograph of the trial against those responsible for the attack on Hogwarts.
And at the center of the chamber, surrounded by the rest of the Wizengamot, was none other than Lucius Malfoy, utterly disfigured and looking even more pitiful than the last time Harry had seen him.
He looked as though he had aged at least thirty years overnight.
And that would only get worse now that he had earned himself a long stay in Azkaban. And since he was now nothing more than a Muggle, no one knew what awaited him there.
He had been accused of being the mastermind behind the attack on the castle.
Of course, the pure-bloods, seeing that he was no longer a wizard, betrayed him without the slightest hesitation, all trying to save their own skins.
Unfortunately for them, besides the recording Terra had obtained, which had only been the spearhead, Edward made sure to dig up every last bit of dirt on them to finish burying them.
And those who had managed to save themselves in the past no longer had the strength to do so.
Among them was Mr. Carrow, who would now be joining his siblings in prison, along with many members of the other families.
Only their children were spared from ending up in Azkaban, since, at least as a final act as parents, they denied the younger generation's involvement.
Maybe earning themselves a tiny bit of approval from Harry.
But not much.
After all, their children weren't nearly as innocent as they tried to make them seem.
Harry wasn't even worried about any possible revenge from them.
At this point, without their parents constantly spoiling them and cleaning up all their messes, Harry was actually interested in seeing how they would manage.
It would only be a matter of time before all those families ended up reunited in prison.
And on the second page was none other than the new Hogwarts castle.
Of course, it was still under construction.
But its structure could already be seen, and it didn't pale in comparison to the old castle in the slightest.
And Harry was very interested in seeing how many of Sirius's ridiculous ideas had actually been approved in the end.
Besides, now, without all the constant dangers that seemed determined to threaten their lives, they would finally get to have the school life they were supposed to have.
For the first time in a long while, there wasn't an immediate threat hanging over them.
Maybe now they could finally focus on some other, more important things, such as...
Harry looked toward the window and saw the beautiful platinum-haired neighbor making her way toward the house while trying to straighten her lovely blue dress, looking impeccably put together, though still a little nervous, before standing proudly and crossing the street with the expression of someone marching into battle.
It made Harry chuckle softly.
Yeah, things between him and Fleur still hadn't progressed all that much, stuck in that ridiculous contest over who could drive the other crazier.
But he couldn't help feeling that this was the most enjoyable part of his life.
"I'm heading out," Harry said to everyone.
"Have fun on your date," his mother said with a sweet, amused smile that looked very much like a mother watching her chicks spread their wings for the first time.
"Of course," Harry replied with a gentle smile.
Maybe...
At long last...
He could finally enjoy a normal year.
...
A/N: Well, well. I hope you're all ready for our last, wonderful final arc.
I'm not, but it's time to start bringing this amazing story to its end.
I'll do my best to make it as interesting, fun, heartfelt, and, of course, as exciting as possible.