Chapter 43 – Relearning
Harry felt panicked. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted again, and still nothing happened. Hermione had a look of complete terror on her face. Harry felt like Ron must have in Flitwick's class on their first Halloween at Hogwarts. "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" The quill stayed there.
Madam Pomfrey appeared very worried and was wearing an obviously fake smile. "As I explained, Mr. Potter, your magic is unstable now, but should c…come back."
"May I suggest…" interjected Dumbledore, "…that Harry try another wand?"
"He's not going to get better results with someone else's wand than with his own," countered Pomfrey indignantly. "This wand is specifically suited to Harry."
Harry gave a slight smile as he thought about what was special about his wand. "I'd like to try, Madam Pomfrey."
She sighed but then handed Harry her wand. "You shouldn't expect different results with my wand."
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he cast while concentrating as hard as he could, performing the appropriate wand motion. The quill rose a few inches off the ground. Everyone was staring.
"What?" exclaimed Poppy, "Try your wand again."
After Harry tried his wand unsuccessfully, he tried everybody else's. He got some sort of result, not nearly as good as he'd hoped, from every wand but his own.
Hermione asked, "But how can that be unless the wand bonded with…" and she closed her mouth to avoid telling Madam Pomfrey about the Horcrux.
"With what?"
Dumbledore decided to give her a half truth. "The phoenix feather core of Harry's wand came from the same phoenix as the one in Lord Voldemort's wand." Pomfrey flinched at the name. Harry's jaw dropped. He didn't think anybody besides himself and Ollivander knew that. Everyone else was staring at Harry's wand. "Mr. Ollivander told me about it. You see, the Phoenix that supplied the feathers is Fawkes."
"What?" asked Harry.
"Oh yes, but then we're off topic. We're hypothesizing that the curse in Harry's scar somehow made him feel like Voldemort to the wand, and now that the curse isn't inside Harry, the wand doesn't recognize him at all."
"I…I suppose that's as good an explanation as any," replied Pomfrey. "Mr. Potter, aside from your difficulty with magic, and I believe you're still having a difficulty if you can't levitate a feather one foot off the ground, even if it is with someone else's wand. You are perfectly fine, so you don't have to stay in the hospital wing. I suggest you get a new wand as soon as possible and see me then. In the mean time, I'll give you medical leave from classes for a week, and hopefully by then you'll be able to keep up with your classes.
"Do not let anybody know that Harry's having difficulty with his magic," insisted Dumbledore emphatically to the whole group. "As you all know, he's been attacked several times this year and managed to fight off his attackers. This would be their perfect opportunity. We'll simply say that he's ill and contagious. Mr. Potter, I believe you should stay in this room. It should supply everything you need, and very few people know about it. I suggest you say you believe he's at St. Mungo's but you're not sure, if anyone asks." Dumbledore looked at Harry. "Mr. Potter, aside from our secret trip to Mr. Ollivander's, where I personally will escort you on Monday, do not leave this room."
Harry nodded his head. "Yes, sir, I don't fancy being caught powerless by Snape myself. I would like my trunk brought down, though." His trunk immediately appeared, loaded with all of his stuff.
Dumbledore smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. "I suggest you call one of your house elves to keep you company until you're fully recovered. One of them should be able to defend you should the need arise." He then turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Thank you very much for your services. Mr. Potter will have a new wand by Monday afternoon. You may test his magic then."
"Very well, I really should get back to my other patients."
Once she was gone, Dumbledore asked, "Would you mind attempting wandless magic?"
"Sure," responded Harry. Harry looked at the quill, but it didn't immediately rise. His brow furrowed in concentration and the quill finally began to rise. He closed his eyes and it shot up to the ceiling. "Doing magic…I don't know…somehow feels different." He took a deep breath. "An hour ago, I could've sent that quill up and placed it where I wanted with just a thought. Now I have to concentrate just to get it to move at all. If I concentrate too hard, it goes too far. I only wanted to levitate it two feet in the air."
Dumbledore smiled. "Well, it seems you'll have to relearn your control, but you will. I suggest you spend your week off practicing. It seems that you were unconsciously using the Horcrux to help you perform magic, and now you've got to learn how to fully use your own magical core. We'll leave right after breakfast on Monday morning. Now, to dispose of the Horcrux."
"Wait a minute, Headmaster," said Harry.
"Yes."
"Could I borrow that Horcrux for a minute?"
Dumbledore looked amused. He handed the Kleenex to Harry, who proceeded to blow his nose and spit into the tissue, expressing his feelings about his nemesis. He then placed the befouled tissue on a table that appeared. Dumbledore then pointed his wand at the Horcrux and performed a spell that made the tissue burn as faint screaming was heard. Green smoke rose up from the table that now had a burn mark on it. The table then disappeared, because it was no longer required.
-MITAB-
After each of them gave him words of encouragement, along with promises to visit, Harry found himself alone with a clearly shaken up Hermione. She hugged him and kissed him gently. When they separated, he noticed she'd been crying. "What's wrong?"
"I…I thought I'd turned you into a squib. I was so scared you'd hate me…"
"Hold on! First, I could never hate you. Second, you freed me from Voldemort, and I think losing my magic would be an equitable trade for that. Thirdly, I lived for eleven years not knowing I was magical, and I could do that again, especially without the Dursleys trying to ruin my life. I guess I wouldn't be able to stay here during the school year, so I hope you wouldn't forget about me…"
"I could never forget about you, Harry! How could you even think that? I love you!" To prove the sincerity of that statement, she proceeded to give him to most passionate snog of their lives thus far.
-MITAB-
The next morning, Harry was in the room alone with Dobby, working on re-mastering levitation. He was getting frustrated as it would either barely move or it would move too much. The more he practiced, the more the latter would happen. Dobby was sitting quietly until Harry exclaimed in frustration, "This is impossible!"
"Dobby is begging Harry Potter sir's forgiveness, but Harry Potter is being wrong. Harry Potter is a great wizard and is doing everything he is wanting."
"But I can't control how much magic I put into the spells, Dobby! I could try to rescue someone and accidentally kill them, or else I won't use enough magic to help at all!"
"Then Harry Potter is practicing concentration. It is seeming that Harry Potter is even more powerful than before."
"No, that's not it. I used to be able to use just as much power, but I could control it. Maybe you're right about my concentration though."
Harry stopped what he was doing and went over in his mind how he'd been practicing his magic. He realized that before the Horcrux was removed, he hardly concentrated at all. It had become second nature to him. Because he started having his difficulty, he had to concentrate hard before he re-found his magical core. He then understood that he had found it, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to do anything. He decided to pretend that nothing had happened and try the spell again. He looked at the quill again, deciding to raise it six feet above the floor. It went about seven feet, but didn't hit the high ceiling. After letting it drop to the floor, he tried again, and it went about five feet.
He spent the next several hours recalibrating his magic, first with levitating, and then with other spells. The room created dueling dummies that looked like Snape, and Harry worked on blasting them. The first few times he let himself concentrate, and ended up disintegrating them. After that, he worked on how powerful a blast he would shoot. He then decided to try his shield. "Dobby, can you try stunning me?"
Dobby looked horrified, "No, sir! Dobby is never attacking Harry Potter, sir! Even if Dobby was wanting to, house elves isn't able to attack their masters!"
"But it would only be to test my shield. For practice."
"Dobby is understanding and Dobby is sorry, but house elves is dying if they is attacking their master! If you is wanting to punish Dobby, Dobby is ready." A mallet appeared in Dobby's hand and the elf got ready to swing it at his own head.
"I'm not gonna punish you, Dobby. I just didn't know. I guess I'll need someone else. Could you pop over to Hermione and see if she can help me practice dueling. If she's too busy, ask her if she knows if anyone from our group is available."
-MITAB-
Hermione was studying in the library. With her research for Harry, she'd gotten a bit behind in where she wanted her studies to be (she was now only three weeks ahead). She knew the time spent on the Horcrux was more important than homework, but now that Harry was recovering, she thought she'd try getting caught up. A small pop in front of her got her attention. She had a shield up before she even looked to see Dobby in front of her. "Dobby," she whispered, "What are you doing here? Does Harry need something?"
"Yes, Miss Grangie," he answered, bowing low. "Harry Potter is wanting his Grangie so he can be practicing dueling. If his Grangie is being too busy, he is asking who might be available to be helping him."
She sighed at the disruption to her studies, but then smiled that Harry thought he was ready to start dueling again. "It's okay. I'll help him. You can tell him I'll be right there."
"Yes, Miss Grangie," Dobby replied, saluting just before he disappeared.
-MITAB-
Fifteen minutes later, the door to the Room of Requirement opened, and Hermione walked into the room to find Harry standing nearby. He kissed her quickly. When they separated, he commented, "I missed you."
She blushed slightly. "I missed you, too, but I hope you didn't call me here to snog. Dobby said you wanted to duel."
"That's right. I wanted to start practicing my shield, but I don't have anyone to shoot at me. Dobby says he can't, so I needed someone." He then smiled at his girlfriend. "I'm very glad and thankful that you came."
She took a deep breath and responded, "Okay. Defend yourself!"
He concentrated as he put up a shield as she blasted him with her weakest stunning spell. The shield held easily.
She smiled. "Good job. I guess I'll have to try harder." She then went through every hex she could do wandlessly, while Harry stood there (he was testing his shield, not his dodging ability). Nothing got past his shield. He was smiling as she got frustrated to the point of taking out her wand. She then went through her arsenal of powerful spells as Harry kept his concentration until finally a powerful reducto barely got through the shield and caused a red mark on his left arm. His shield was back up a moment later. Hermione put down her wand. "I don't know whether to be happy or upset. My shield can't stand up to a reducto like that! But you can't get used to it. If a reducto can get past it at all, so can the unforgivables. I think it's time to see how well you can fight back."
Soon Harry and Hermione were in an all out duel. Harry didn't seem to be shooting as rapidly as before, but his spells were powerful when they hit, which fortunately wasn't often as she was able to dodge. Harry kept his shield up, but kept dodging because he wanted to keep that ability. After about two hours they were both sweaty and exhausted. Hermione put up her hands, yelling, "Truce!"
"Sure. You realized I was about to beat you, so you needed a break. I understand."
"Then why are you panting for air?"
"Because I need a break," he answered with a smirk.
"Well," remarked Hermione, "I think I've seen enough to evaluate your abilities."
A chair appeared behind Harry and he sat down. "What did you think?"
The chair Harry was sitting in turned into a loveseat and Hermione sat next to him. "As we know, your shield is wonderful. We also know not to depend on it. Your reflexes are the same as they were, which is excellent. Your spells seem to be a bit more powerful than they were before, but it took you about three times as long to send them, which is why I was able to dodge most of them."
Harry frowned. "My magical core is different now. It's still hard to make my magic work. I suppose it's like learning to write with your left hand when your right is hurt. Most people can manage it, but it doesn't feel natural and requires more concentration."
She shrugged her shoulders. "The only thing you can do is practice, practice, practice."
"And that's why you stopped our duel?"
"I thought we could use a snog break, and then I honestly think you should practice hexing a target as many times in a minute as possible."
Harry smiled. "I like the idea of a snog break."
"I thought you might."
-MITAB-
On Monday morning, Harry and Dumbledore stood outside the door of Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. "Here we are," announced Albus cheerfully. "I believe you may be the first customer he's had where your wand rejected you after purchasing it."
When they walked into the shop, a bell rang. "Good morning, Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore," greeted the old man with wide, pale eyes.
The headmaster spoke. "Might we have a bit of privacy?"
"Certainly," replied the proprietor, pointing his own wand at the door, causing it to say 'closed' and charming it so no one could eavesdrop.
"Now, what can I do for you?"
"It's about my wand," answered Harry nervously, "It…it won't work for me anymore."
He looked shocked. "Impossible. I personally sold you the holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, that was brother to You-Know-Who's wand. It chose you. Wands don't change their minds."
Dumbledore answered. "We found that Mr. Potter's scar had a curse that connected him to Voldemort, and we recently removed it. Once that was done, he could not perform magic with his wand anymore. We believe that the wand chose Harry because of that curse."
"That's quite unusual, quite unusual. Do you still have the wand?"
"Yes," replied Harry, pulling it out of his pocket.
Ollivander looked like Christmas had come early. "Yes, I see that the wand has rejected you. This has never happened before at this shop. You are indeed a tricky customer. Most curious. I guess the only choice we have is to start from scratch. You'll have to start trying wands."
Amazingly, Harry's wand was the second one Mr. Ollivander gave him to try. "Ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches. I believe this was the third wand you tried the last time you were here. It rejected you before, but now it appears to have chosen you. Curious."
"What's curious?" asked Harry timidly (something about this man made Harry nervous), "Apart from the fact that it rejected me before."
"That it is so short. It would seem that your magic needs less focus than most witch's and wizard's. You may even be able to focus enough to do some wandless magic. You-Know-Who needed an exceptionally long wand – thirteen-and-a-half inches. He, of course, took it as a compliment, and I never told him otherwise. The eleven inches of your previous wand was an average length. Your father used the same. Your mother's was slightly smaller – ten-and-a-quarter inches, but not this short."
Harry, remembering Ron showing off his new fourteen-inch willow wand with unicorn hair last year, had to stop himself from laughing, realizing that Ron did have trouble focusing on anything but chess and Quidditch. "Interesting," is what Harry decided to say.
-MITAB-
Madam Pomfrey was extremely pleased with the results Harry got with his new wand, and said he was probably ready for classes now, but since the whole school knew Harry was going to be gone that week, and his magic was still a bit unstable, she allowed him to stay off the entire week. Moony, Padfoot, and Brooks had gone over their lessons with him over the weekend, so he already had their homework to do. Over the course of the week, Harry practiced using both his wand and wandless abilities. He found that the new wand was lighter and easier to conceal. He also found that his spells were much more powerful when using his new wand. His spellcasting speed increased dramatically.
Before breakfast, he'd have the normal training with everybody, although they were slightly easier on him at first. By the end of the week, they were just as tough on him as always. While classes were in session, he would spend one hour practicing with his wand, one hour doing homework, one hour practicing without the wand, and another hour on homework. He'd then eat lunch and do the same thing again.
After dinner, he'd work with Hermione. First, she'd tell him what he missed in class (aside from the three he'd already gotten), then they'd work on his magic, and then they'd snog. She mentioned that his snogging ability had even improved now that Voldemort was no longer part of him. He wasn't sure how to take that comment.
When he got back to classes, whenever someone noticed his new wand, he'd claim he broke his old one. In truth, he kept it as a souvenir. He planned on hanging it in his room, along with the two wands he'd acquired from Snape. He didn't mention to anyone about what he'd learned about wand length, but he did notice that Hermione's was about nine inches. He was afraid she'd blurt that information out and insult half the students.
It wasn't long until Harry was taken out to what used to be the Quidditch pitch along with the other champions. After he was assured by Ludo Bagman that the pitch would be back to normal after the tournament, he learned that the third task was going to be a maze.
While they were leaving, Krum said, "Harry, I vould like a vord with you."
Harry chuckled at the chowderhead, knowing that Viktor was probably going to start trouble. "Sorry, I've got to see Hermione." He smirked at Viktor's scowl. "You know, according to Mr. Ollivander the wand maker, shorter wands are better than long ones. Do you agree?"
Krum's face turned red as he realized the hidden meaning, and Harry could swear that smoke came out of his ears. "Vhy you…ow!" yelled Krum. He had reached for his magic wand. As soon as he got it out, his feet were 'somehow' pulled out from under him. He fell on his wand, stabbing himself in the ribs until the wand snapped (and apparently a rib or two based off of how the Bulgarian 'champion' was acting).
Harry hadn't actually meant to hurt Krum, but couldn't stop himself from laughing. "You should really be more careful. I'll levitate you to the hospital wing." He then pulled out his wand and did just that before Viktor could protest, slowly floating him in the most crowded hallways going the long way as everyone watched, wondering what Harry had done to Krum.
When they got to Madam Pomfrey and she checked Viktor's injuries, she suspiciously asked Harry, "What happened?"
"We were talking and he got mad at me, so he pulled out his wand. Before he could hex me, he tripped and fell on it. After that, I levitated him here."
"Vy you…OW!" Viktor shouted until his ribs hurt again.
Pomfrey looked at Krum. "Is that the truth?"
"He tripped me! I know it!"
"How?" asked Harry. "My wand was still in my pocket."
"I don't know how, but vou did it!"
"If you want, we can put our memories into a pensieve," suggested Harry calmly, "and then we can prove that you pointed your wand at me and then fell from your own clumsiness."
Madam Pomfrey looked at Krum again, this time angrily. "If you pulled your wand first, Harry won't be in any trouble even if you did prove he somehow tripped you. I don't know how things are at Durmstrang, but here at Hogwarts that sort of behavior is not tolerated. Anyway, I'll have to make sure your wand didn't hurt any of your organs. I'd suggest that after you're recovered, that you pay Mr. Ollivander in Diagon Alley a visit. You may go now, Mr. Potter."
Chapter 44 – The Graveyard
The weeks passed quickly, and Harry got more and more used to his new magical core. Krum did get a new fifteen-inch wand from Ollivander's shop in Diagon Alley, and was glaring at Harry more than ever. When Harry explained how Viktor got hurt to Hermione, she was quite amused, and was glad that he was once again capable of tripping someone magically, although she admonished him to be more careful.
Before he knew it, Harry was eating breakfast with Hermione on the day of the last task. He was chewing a forkful of eggs when Professor McGonagall walked up to him.
"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the hall after breakfast."
"But the task's not till tonight!" replied Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time.
"I'm aware of that, Potter," she responded. "The champions' families are invited to spend the day here with them."
"But Sirius is my only family, and he's sitting at the staff table over there."
"Someone has come to see you," said McGonagall with a slight smile, glancing at Hermione, and walked away.
"Do you have any idea who came?" Harry asked his girlfriend. "Maybe if the Dursleys believed I was going to die, they'd come to watch."
Hermione was slightly smiling but trying to control her expression. "There's only one way to find out."
-MITAB-
After he got through his breakfast and kissed Hermione goodbye, he walked to the room indicated by McGonagall to see who had come. He saw Fleur with her parents and Viktor with his. He didn't miss the glare that the Krums gave him when he entered. He then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who had come.
A man with brown hair that was just starting to go grey was standing next to a woman with brown, bushy hair, just like Hermione's. Harry smiled broadly as he walked up to Hermione's parents. "Adam! Marissa! I had no idea you were coming! It's good to see you!" He shook Adam's hand and then Marissa pulled him into a hug.
"We told Hermione not to ruin our surprise," she explained. "We called her last night and told her."
"She looked like she knew who was visiting."
"So," remarked Adam, "Hermione was right that your scar is a lot lighter now."
Harry took a deep breath. "Yes. I do feel a lot better without a piece of Voldemort inside me. Your daughter is absolutely amazing. Dumbledore didn't think it was possible to remove it, but she came up with a way five weeks after finding out about my problem!"
"We're very proud of her," stated Marissa, "But we're also proud of you. That's why we're here today. To watch you become the youngest Triwizard champion that's ever been."
"At least according to Hermione, no one younger has won before you," clarified Adam.
Harry blushed at the praise. "I haven't won yet."
"But you've mopped the floor with the others for the first two tasks," pointed out Adam.
"So you've got a huge head start into the maze," added Marissa.
"You'll probably win the tournament before the others even begin the task!"
Harry's face was red. "I don't know about that."
-MITAB-
Harry gave the Grangers a tour of Hogwarts, even showing them the outside of the maze. Hermione was very happy, though not surprised, to see her parents at lunch. They spent time together chatting, and before long it was time for the final task.
-MITAB-
As Harry stood near the entrance of the maze waiting for time to start, for a moment he felt his ward tell him a Death Eater was near, but then the feeling went away. He didn't have time to think about what to do about it because at that moment the whistle blew and Harry had to go into the maze. He was confident that he'd be able to fight any Death Eaters he ran across anyway, so he wasn't that worried. He pulled out his wand for show and started jogging into the maze, putting up his shield.
He found it quite easy to blast through any creatures he came across, even Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts, as he quickly advanced in the proper direction, using his wand to point him every so often. He was momentarily slowed down by a boggart that showed Hermione being killed, but once he realized it, he turned Hermione into a plastic doll and laughed at the idea of mourning the death of a toy.
He came across a fog that looked weird, so he used his wandless magic to move it away as he hurried through the maze. Using a powerful burst of magic, he blasted away a very surprised sphinx who ran off after one hit. Harry then saw a huge spider and remembered his anger at how Aragog had told his kids to eat him and Ron, and realized that this was probably one of the spiders that had attacked him. He incinerated the spider with his magic before it could attack. Then Harry caught sight of the cup. He went up to it and grabbed it confidently before he felt two separate sensations. He felt as though a stunning spell hit him in the hand that touched the cup, and as he passed out, he felt a tug beneath his navel.
-MITAB-
He awoke to find himself tied to a grave, with a sharp pain on his left palm. He saw a big snake crawling around. He smiled as he realized he didn't have his glasses on, thankful that Hermione had healed his eyes. He also saw Barty Couch Jr. standing up, holding his arm that appeared to be missing a hand. Snape was also there, holding a sharp dagger that had blood on it, and was shaking drops of it into a huge cauldron.
Harry healed his palm as he realized with fury that the blood was his. He thought he could probably handle this, but decided to make sure. He called for the only help he could, by rubbing the ring he was wearing on his right index finger with other fingers. This would alert Hermione that he needed help, and allow her to apparate as close as whatever wards (which he did detect) were in place would allow.
Before Harry could do anything else, he saw something he'd feared for a long time happen. Voldemort, complete with his red eyes and snake-like nose, rose out of the cauldron. Harry knew that he must be stopped. However, he waited for Snape to robe Riddle before deciding what to do. He watched Tom take his wand from Snape. As Voldemort pressed his wand to Snape's dark mark and other Death Eaters started arriving, he knew what he had to do.
-MITAB-
Hermione was proudly watching a magical screen that showed Harry advancing in the maze next to her parents, and saw that he'd reached the cup right after Fleur entered the maze. All of the sudden, Harry and the cup disappeared. She shouted, "Where'd he go!?" Her parents had been trying to calm her down for about ten minutes when she felt a sensation she knew about, but had never actually felt. The ring Harry had given her was starting to burn. Harry was in trouble. She stood up, saying "Harry's in trouble," and tried apparating, only to find that, as she already knew, you can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds. Without another word to anyone else, she started making her way down the stands as quickly as possible, intent on reaching the boundaries so she could apparate.
-MITAB-
Harry found he didn't have his wand, and decided that he'd have to just reveal his powers and hopefully put an end to this new war before it began. Without moving, Harry caused the ropes that were around him to snap, gaining Voldemort's attention. As Tom pointed his wand at Harry, he shouted, "Leave him! He's mine!" just as the wand Tom was holding broke in his hand.
Voldemort's body was then thrown into Snape, who fell down, while still holding the dagger, right onto the snake, killing it as green smoke came from it. Harry grinned as he realized what that meant.
Voldemort hurriedly grabbed Snape's wand from him and faced his adversary just before being pulled up and turned upside-down while the Death Eaters watched. Voldemort finally shouted, "Kill him!" a moment before a blast from another direction killed Snape. The Death Eaters turned their attention to their immediate threat, leaving their master to deal with Harry Potter.
"You killed my father!" shouted Harry as Voldemort's wrist was twisted until it broke, causing him to drop Snape's newest wand. Tom screamed in pain. Harry continued, "You killed my mother!" Tom's other wrist broke as he was still hanging upside-down in midair. "You put a Horcrux in my head!" Voldemort's right foot broke. "Which by the way was removed and destroyed." Riddle's left foot broke.
"WWWWhat?" exclaimed Riddle, stunned by the news.
"That's right, Tommy boy! Your diary, Slytherin's ring and locket, Hufflepuff's cup, my Horcrux, and your sixth one, based off the smoke that came from your snake, have all been destroyed!"
While Tom took this information in, Harry summoned him above the cauldron and dropped him in upside down, causing a large splash.
As Riddle quickly got his head out of there, Harry took control again and Voldemort was in the middle of the sky with his hands and feet in the positions to be crucified. Harry shouted, "If I don't kill you now, you're going to start a war to kill hundreds or even thousands of people!"
"No, we can join together and share power…"
Harry actually laughed. "Haven't you noticed yet, you don't have power anymore! You died fourteen years ago!" At that moment, while feeling revulsion, yet resolution over what had to be done, Harry magically broke Voldemort's neck, causing instant death. Harry let Voldemort go and looked around him.
-MITAB-
Hermione finally got to the wards around Hogwarts, and apparated to the edge of a cemetery she'd never seen before. She looked around and saw a commotion in the middle, and guessed that Harry was part of it. She stopped for a moment and gasped as she saw someone who could only be Voldemort himself pushed into Snape. She hurried up, knowing that the other Death Eaters would soon join the so-called fight. She grinned to herself, imagining how surprised Voldemort must be right now.
She blasted Snape with a curse similar to reducto and turned her attention on the rest. She was so busy taking out the terrified Death Eaters that she missed the moment Tom got dropped into his cauldron. She dodged and ducked as death curses were shot at her, and took them all out, one by one, leaving no one alive to hurt anyone else. She had realized that this was Voldemort's inner circle, who had bribed and lied their way out of prison before and were wanting to rejoin him. If they were left alive, they'd do the same things they'd already done.
When the last one had fallen, she looked around to see that Voldemort was now dead and Harry was standing, looking just as grim as she was feeling. She also noticed both Harry's wand and the Triwizard cup (that had obviously been a portkey) lying on the ground.
"Th-Thanks for coming, Mine. I was beginning to wonder if you were."
"I had to get out of Hogwarts' wards before I could apparate here."
"The cup stunned me and pulled me here. I must have woken up when Snape cut my palm. He was putting my blood in the cauldron Voldemort rose out of."
She sighed. "He didn't live very long in his new body, did he?"
"No. I didn't know what I'd be facing, so I rubbed my ring before I started fighting back."
"I'm glad you did." She then gave a small smile. "I guess the prophecy's been fulfilled."
He smiled back. "I guess this means I can live now."
"I guess we should take the cup back to Hogwarts."
"After we gather these bodies together."
"I don't know about that," countered Hermione. "It might be better if we keep this a secret. You don't want even more fame, do you? Most people think Voldemort was already dead."
"You're right. Some people may claim that I made up the story if I tell what happened."
"Let's take away everybody's wands and any other evidence of magic, including the cauldron, and make an anonymous call to the muggle police."
"Just make sure I get Voldemort's broken wand, and the last one he had in his hand, as well as my own. You can have the rest. Then, I suggest you apparate back and I'll take the cup back to Hogwarts."
"You should go back now. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure, Hermione?"
"Yes, Hero." She gave him a quick kiss before he grabbed the cup and wound up back at Hogwarts for the celebration. Harry assured Hermione's parents that she was safe as soon as he could. Hermione arrived at the castle about an hour later, looking miserable. They spent the night in the common room holding each other once they escaped the party in the Great Hall. They decided to tell their group what really happened the next day.
-MITAB-
"Well," announced Dumbledore after Harry and Hermione finished telling their tale in his office, "This is excellent news, and I do agree that there is little point in panicking everyone by telling them Voldemort's back if he's already dead."
Hermione then spoke. "I also incinerated his corpse because I thought his body might alert the muggles that something was wrong."
"Excellent. Now, even if the ministry finds out, they'll only assume that the Death Eaters had gathered and fought amongst themselves," added Lupin.
Sirius smiled. "Perhaps they were trying to decide who would be their new leader."
Chapter 45 – Epilogue
At breakfast on the morning the students would leave Hogwarts for the summer, the Potter Press had an interesting article on the front page. It showed a muggle photograph of the graveyard in Little Hangleton with the corpses of Death Eaters lying on the ground the way Hermione had left them.
"This must be one of the photos the muggle police or reporters took," commented Hermione. She then began reading the article.
Death Eaters Gather at Cemetery and Kill Each Other?
By Anna Jesse
Two nights ago, muggle police in the town of New Hangleton were anonymously informed by a woman using a telephone (muggle communication device) that there were several dead bodies in a local cemetery. After the woman insisted that she wasn't making a joke, and that there were unburied dead bodies of people who had just died there, the police investigated.
What they found was a group of people in Death Eater outfits, which of course the muggles didn't identify. However, the Ministry of Magic has obtained the bodies and identified every single one of them as having been a wizard who had claimed to have done Voldemort's bidding only under the Imperius Curse nearly fourteen years ago, and therefore had been released from charges after their master's downfall.
The Minister is fairly certain that this is the same group that caused the disturbance at the Quidditch World Cup last year. An interesting fact is that Voldemort's muggle father, Tom Riddle, is buried at the graveyard they were found at. What they were doing there or what happened to them is a mystery, although the grave of Voldemort's father appears to have been tampered with.
The article went on to name everyone that was found there, including Crabbe's and Goyle's fathers. When they were finished with the article, Harry remarked, "I wonder if he had my name entered in the tournament."
"I don't think we'll ever know," replied Hermione.
"Who?" asked George, who was standing behind them.
"Oh," responded Harry, surprised. "We were just wondering who entered me in the tournament."
Fred and George shared a look. "I guess we can tell you now, Harry…"
"Since you won…" added George, as Harry and Hermione began staring at the twins.
"…just like we knew…"
"…and bet that you would."
"It was us," they announced together.
"What?" asked Harry. "How?"
"With that remote-controlled helicopter you charmed for us," answered Fred.
"You even borrowed it on Valentine's Day," added George.
"We would've thought that you."
"Or at least Hermione."
"Would've figured that out by now."
Harry and Hermione stared at each other, and then at the twins. Hermione finally spoke. "I would've thought you'd enter yourselves."
"We did," replied Fred. "We put our names in, and then Harry's."
"We decided to let the goblet decide who the champion would be."
"Once it picked you, we started betting."
"Well, thanks for risking my life for your financial gain," replied Harry, secretly impressed by their ingenuity.
"Anytime," responded George. "By the way, did you lose your glasses in the tournament?"
"Because you haven't been wearing them since you won."
"Oh, yeah. You're not the first people to ask. I ordered contact lenses." Harry had decided to stop bothering with the glasses, but they decided to keep their involvement with the spell a secret. They planned on speaking to an Eye Healer this summer about it. "So, how much did you make off of me?"
"We'd have to check our records," answered Fred.
"But it was quite a large sum," assured George.
"Then you should give Harry a percentage of your winnings!" replied Hermione forcefully. "He doesn't seem to mind what you did that much, but I do! After how much we already helped you with the muggle technology charms, too!"
"Hermione," scolded Harry gently, "What's done is done. Yelling at them won't change anything. Besides, I did win." He grinned at her, "and got the prize money."
"Well," announced George, "We've got to finish packing." They then left.
Hermione sighed and grinned back at Harry. "Oh well. I can't believe they're not finished packing yet."
At that moment, Fleur Delacour walked up to them with her head down. "I wish to apologize for my behavior this year. I decided zat I wanted ze famous 'Arry Potter, but found zat he waz taken. I should haff left it zer, but instead I tried to interfere with your relationship. I waz wrong to do zo, and am glad to zee that your relationship waz ztrong enough to withstand my azzault."
Harry looked at Hermione, who nodded. "All right." He then shook Fleur's hand.
The French girl added, "Oh by zee way, congratulationz on winning zee tournament. You are much more powerful than both Viktor and myself, even zo you are younger."
"Thanks," replied Harry, and Fleur walked away from their table.
"Harry," suggested Hermione, "We should say goodbye to our teachers now."
"All right," he agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "I've got a question for Dumbledore anyway."
They young couple first walked up to Dumbledore. "Headmaster," asked Harry, "Are you still planning on training us this summer?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly at him. "If you're both still interested, absolutely. Despite the fact that we no longer face the threat of Voldemort, I believe that passing down knowledge to the next generation is vital to our world. Besides, you never know if another dark wizard like Voldemort will attempt to gain power. Although it's not normal to take on two apprentices at once, I believe that you are exceptional people. I'd like you both to become my apprentices.
Our studies will take four hours per day, five days per week until the middle of August, but by then I believe you will both have learned everything I wish to teach you, provided that you put forth the same effort that you have been into your studies. Professor McGonagall has been very impressed with you both, as well." Albus smiled as his eyes twinkled. "She has already submitted the Gryffindor prefect recommendations, although I am not allowed to say who they were," he remarked with a wink.
A huge grin formed on Hermione's face. "Really?" she asked excitedly, "Of course you can't answer that."
Harry smiled to see his girlfriend so excited. "Thank you, Headmaster. We'll see you next Monday." They then talked briefly to Hagrid, McGonagall, and others, until finally they decided to get their stuff out of Gryffindor Tower.
As they were headed out of the Great Hall, they both saw Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle walking toward them with evil looks in their eyes. Suddenly the three Slytherins fell backwards as though pushed, as Harry and Hermione smiled at them."
"I know you cheated in the tournament, Scarhead!" Draco hissed when he stood up (blaming his bodyguards for the fall) and dusted himself off with a grin that quickly went away as he lost control of his bladder. He then ran off, followed by his stooges.
Chuckling, Harry walked with his girlfriend as they headed toward Gryffindor Tower to collect their trunks. "So, I suppose we'll have to continue our workouts every day."
"Yes," agreed Hermione. "Now that we've gotten in shape it would be a shame to lose that."
"And we'll also have to do homework."
"Of course. Not to mention Quidditch practice," added Hermione.
"You know," commented Harry with a huge smile, "Even though I played with you a lot last summer, it still seems amazing to hear you say that."
She blushed. "I haven't been on a broom since August, so it's easy to forget. I'm going to have to practice if I want to make the team as a Chaser next year."
"Something about that idea makes me want to pull you into a broom closet and snog you senseless."
"Then why don't you?" she replied seductively.
-MITAB-
Thirty minutes later, a disheveled-looking Harry and Hermione entered Gryffindor Tower to find Neville and Ginny snogging passionately in the Common Room. They grinned and walked up to their dormitories, deciding to leave the couple in peace.
-MITAB-
When they got onto the Hogwarts Express, Neville, Ginny, Harry and Hermione began their search for a compartment. Professors Black and Lupin were portkeying to Potter Manor, but Harry decided to take the train because of a certain prank Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny had planned during the ride. After finding several places full, they finally found that the last compartment only had two people. Ron Weasley and Susan Bones were snogging passionately, apparently oblivious to everything that was going on around them.
Hermione and Neville blushed, but Harry whispered, "Let's sit down here and see how long it takes them to realize that they're not alone."
Ginny whispered with a grin, "As long as they don't go too far."
The four of them managed to put their trunks away and sit across from the couple without disturbing them. They'd even set up a prank for Malfoy, whom they knew would be kind enough to pay them a visit soon. After they'd been there ten minutes, the door opened again, revealing Draco and his goons. Harry caused a bucket that was being levitated to turn upside down when they stepped forward.
Ron and Susan broke apart blushing when Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle yelled as some type of liquid spilled all over them. Hermione then made them fall into each other because the potion required physical contact.
"Crabbe, Goyle," declared Draco passionately, "I love you both!"
They both looked at him with lust in their eyes. "We love you, too, and we also love each other." They got up and walked out the door side by side with Draco in the middle. Draco had one hand on each of their bums while they each had a hand on his.
As the door was closing, they saw Draco kiss each of them quickly and stop at the next compartment to announce happily, "I want everyone on the train to know that Crabbe, Goyle, and I are in love!" They then walked to every other compartment on the train doing the same thing.
Everyone in Harry's compartment was laughing. Ron commented, "Whatever that potion was guys, it was brilliant!"
"Thanks," replied Hermione.
"How long will that last?" asked Susan.
"Until every person on this train has heard them declare their love," answered Ginny, giggling.
-MITAB-
About an hour later, the group knew that everyone had been told of Malfoy's romance by how loudly he was yelling. When he got near their compartment, he screamed (without touching the door), "I'll get you for this, Potter!" before he and his 'lovers' quite obviously lost control of their bowels in the hallway of the Hogwarts Express, as far away from the bathroom or their compartment as they could get." They ran off.
"That was cruel," scolded Hermione, although she was chuckling.
"They deserved it," countered Harry. "If they'd just leave us alone, I would leave them alone."
"That's not what I meant," she explained. "I meant forcing everyone on the train to smell that."
"Not to mention hear their noises," added Susan, looking somewhere between amused and offended.
"I admit the smell is foul," he replied, holding his wand and cleaning the air. "Is that better?"
"Much," responded Hermione. "I wonder if those three will ever figure out that you're doing that to them."
"Never," declared Harry with a grin. "If they did, Malfoy would have to realize that I know spells he's never heard of. Since I'm a half-blood, that's impossible."
Everyone laughed at that comment.
"You'd think that by looking at Crabbe and Goyle, he'd realize that being pureblood doesn't make you a good wizard," remarked Ron.
-MITAB-
When the train ride was over, Harry and Hermione met Sirius and the Grangers.
Adam commented, "I read the paper about those mysterious deaths at the cemetery in Little Hangleton," with a smirk. "They think it was some sort of cult that did a ritual suicide."
"They're right," replied Sirius. "Trying to hold Harry captive is a form of suicide.
"I guess you won't have as busy a summer as last year," remarked Marissa.
"Er, actually, it's going to be pretty busy," countered Hermione.
"We're going to both be taught by Dumbledore, four hours a day, five days a week," explained Harry, "until our vacation at the end of summer."
"But why?" asked Adam. "With Voldemort gone, you don't have to worry about that prophecy. I know that you both can handle yourselves against the occasional crazy attacker."
"I know, but I think it's good to learn as much as we can. It's also an honor to be Professor Dumbledore's apprentices," clarified Hermione.
Harry added, "Besides, you never know when the next dark wizard will show up."