Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 139: Epilogue
Three weeks after the fall of Lundy Island, a cottage somewhere in Scotland.
The evening was quiet, and the sun was starting to dip below the horizon.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the ancient oak tree that stood beside the house.
Harry sat on a wooden bench overlooking a dense forest. Excalibur was resting against the wall behind him.
It's been three weeks since Arthur's death…since the stone had been shattered and the war had ended.
Three weeks of silence and peace.
Morgan sat beside him, her staff propped against the bench, her amber eyes fixed on the distance. She had been quiet all evening, much more than usual.
Harry watched her from the corner of his eye. There was something different about her today. A sense of heaviness that had nothing to do with battle.
"What's on your mind?" he finally decided to ask.
Morgan was silent for a long moment. Then she said, "Immortality."
Harry turned to look at her properly. "What about it?"
"I've been thinking about it. About…what it means." Morgan's voice was soft. "I've lived for nearly fifteen hundred years, Merlin. I've watched everyone I cared about…die. You are the only one who came back, but…"
She paused.
"I have watched Camelot rise and fall. I have seen the world change. I watched magic fade and return. Through it all, I have remained unchanged."
Harry said nothing. He simply listened.
"Now Arthur is gone," Morgan continued. "The Argent Flame is destroyed. The stone is shattered. My mission…the mission I gave myself centuries ago, is complete." She looked down at her hands. "And I don't know what to do with myself. What do you do when your purpose has been fulfilled?"
Harry reached over and took her hand. "You live."
Morgan laughed, but it sounded sad. "Live? I've been 'living' for fifteen hundred years. But I've never really lived. I've always been fighting, waiting, or…hiding. Always stuck inside the territory of London."
"You are no longer stuck. You are free to explore the world. In fact, we can do that next," Harry suggested.
She looked at him, her amber eyes glistening.
"And if immortality is no longer something that you wish to have…there is a solution for that as well," he added.
"The Panacea…" Morgan muttered.
"Yes, you still have the other half of the potion. I am no expert on your special condition, but I'm fairly sure that the legendary potion will be able to remove it."
Morgan nodded. "I thought about that already. I've kept it hidden for weeks, telling myself that it should be saved for another emergency, but the truth is that…I've been afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid of becoming mortal. Afraid of being weak. Afraid of losing the strength that has protected me for centuries." She squeezed his hand. "Afraid of losing you, if I can't protect you anymore."
Harry turned on the bench to face her. "Morgan, you've never needed your strength to protect me. You've needed your heart, your mind, your courage. Those won't change. And even without those physical enhancements, you would still be a terrifying witch. Back then, everyone in England was afraid of you, remember?"
Morgan chuckled. "That is true…I was terrifying with my magic alone."
She reached into her robes and pulled out a small vial. The liquid inside glowed with a soft, golden light…the other half of the Panacea. The most powerful healing potion in the world, capable of curing any illness, any curse, any affliction.
Including vampirism.
"If I drink this," Morgan said, "I will become mortal again. I will age, and I will eventually die." She looked at Harry. "Are you sure you want that? To watch me grow old and frail?"
Harry smiled. "I've watched you fight dragons and undead knights. I think I can handle watching you get a few wrinkles."
Morgan laughed. "You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
She uncorked the vial. The golden light spilled out. She looked at it for a long moment, her hand trembling.
Then she drank.
The effect was immediate.
Morgan gasped, her body arching backward. Her skin flushed…first pale, then red, then pale again. Her amber eyes flickered, the pupils dilating and contracting. She clutched her chest as if something inside was tearing itself apart.
"Morgan!" Harry grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady.
"It's—it's working," she gasped. "I can feel it. The cursed blood…it's burning away."
Her fangs receded. Her nails shortened. The unnatural paleness of her skin warmed to a healthy, living hue, and her eyes went from amber to their old pitch-black tone. She collapsed against Harry, her body shaking.
And then—
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Harry felt it against his chest. A heartbeat. Slow, steady, and human.
Morgan's heartbeat.
He pulled back and looked at her. She was breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face. But she was smiling. It was a radiant smile that he had never seen before.
"I can hear it," she whispered. "My heart. I can hear my own heart."
Harry brushed a strand of hair from her face. "How do you feel?"
Morgan laughed…a sound of pure joy. "Alive."
She looked down at her hands. They were still pale, but no longer corpse-pale. They looked like the hands of a woman, not a creature. She touched her face, her neck, her chest.
"I'm mortal," she said, as if saying it made it real. "I'm actually mortal."
Harry pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and wept with relief. Centuries of weight, lifted in a single moment.
They stayed like that for a long time, holding each other as the sun finished its descent and the stars began to appear.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Several days later, they returned to the shop in Knockturn Alley.
"I've been thinking," Harry said, breaking the comfortable silence.
"Dangerous habit," Morgan replied while organizing a shelf.
Harry smiled. "I've spent two lifetimes fighting. Saving people and righting wrongs. I think I'm tired."
Morgan looked at him. "What are you saying?"
"I was thinking that we deserve a proper vacation," Harry said.
"I thought that was the point of the cabin."
"No, I don't mean to spend a few days in a forest."
Morgan stepped closer. "Then what do you want to do?"
Harry thought for a moment. Then he smiled.
"I want to travel again. To go on a journey across the world like I did during my younger years as Merlin. I miss that, and I want to see how much this world has changed. And…" He glanced at her. "I want you to accompany me."
"A trip around the world?" Morgan seemed to be considering it.
"Yes, think about it. We have both missed so much. There are so many places we have never seen. We can explore, eat delicious food, and drink vintage wines."
Morgan smiled. "You know what?…that doesn't sound too bad. I suppose I can close the shop for a while."
"Yes, it's not like you have any clients," Harry said.
"Don't push it," Morgan warned him.
Her eyes may have been human now, but they were still intimidating.
Harry held up his hands in mock surrender.
"I'm just saying…a shop that sells cursed artifacts to the few brave souls who dare enter this part of Knockturn Alley might not have the highest customer turnover."
Morgan snorted. "It's called exclusivity. Something you wouldn't understand."
Harry laughed.
"So," Morgan said, leaning against the counter. "A trip around the world. Where would we go first?"
<><><><><><><>
Three months later – Somewhere in the Japanese Alps
The cherry blossoms were falling like pink snow.
Harry and Morgan stood on a wooden bridge overlooking a river, the petals drifting around them. The sun was warm on their faces. In the distance, a temple bell rang, signaling the evening prayer.
Morgan leaned against the railing, her dark hair loose and untouched by magic for the first time in centuries. She looked different…more at peace. Her mortal heart beat steadily in her chest, a rhythm Harry had come to love.
"You were right," Morgan said quietly.
"About what?"
"About traveling. About seeing the world." She watched a petal land on the water and float away. "I spent fifteen hundred years in the shadows, hiding from the sun, hiding from people. I forgot what it felt like to just…be."
Harry moved beside her, their shoulders touching. "And now?"
"Now I remember." She turned to look at him. "Thank you, Merlin. For not giving up on me. For giving me this."
Harry smiled. "You gave it to yourself. I just opened the door."
They stood together as the sun dipped lower. Somewhere behind them, a group of monks began to chant, their voices rising and falling like the wind.
Harry thought about everything that had led to this moment...all the pain, the battles, the losses, the betrayals.
He thought about Arthur, about Camelot, about the book and the stone and the darkness that had consumed so much.
And he thought about the future. About all the days ahead, with no wars to fight and no curses to break. Just making use of the time he had left on this earth.
Endless, precious, mortal time.
Morgan glanced at him. "What are you thinking about?"
Harry put his arm around her shoulders. "Nothing at all."
She smiled and leaned into him.
The cherry blossoms continued to fall.
For the first time in fifteen hundred years, they had time.
And they intended to use every second of it.
THE END