Vox Corporis: Rebirth

Vox Corporis: Rebirth

Chapter 80:“Remember Me”



Original story by -> MissAnnThropic

http://fanfiction.portkey.org/story/6586/1

Email: miss_annthropic@yahoo.com



Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.



Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.



CONTENT Disclaimer: This story may contain sexually graphic and explicit material and it is not suitable for minors. If you are a minor, please leave now, as it is illegal for you to be here. If it is illegal for you to read or view sexually explicit material in the community you view such material, please leave now. This story and characters are purely fictional and any resemblance to events or persons (living or dead) is purely coincidental. If you are offended by sexually explicit stories, please read no further. These stories are just that, stories, and may or may not reflect the opinions of the author.



IMPORTANT NOTE: I am making two changes to Ann’s storyline – by letting Madame Pomfrey and Draco Malfoy survive. She had a port key…and when she saw that her charges had perished, she used the key to get her and Draco to safety. She was badly hurt, but knew that she had to live in order to help others.



EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE – PLEASE READ!! I have included, almost verbatim, text from ANN’s work, Chapter 62.

< http://fanfiction.portkey.org/story/6586/63> I am not nearly good enough a writer to have done what she did. I’m just borrowing. SO – pretty much everything from the last paragraph of Page 14 through the top of page 19 is ANN’s. NOT MINE. NOT MINE!! OK? I’m borrowing! THANK YOU, ANN!!!!



NOT SO IMPOTANT NOTE: there is a quote on page 12 that I borrowed from: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Ministry_of_Magic#Department_of_Mysteries.



FINALLY – thank you to all my beta’s: barmyoldcodger , Jhoane, Margie - All three of you are fabulous and I’m really, really lucky to have you reading and re-reading my stories.



A/N – From Chapter 79 – “Out of Sorts”



“Facereaperte” they whispered, almost at the same moment. Their clothes liquefied and slid away from their bodies, then pooled and reformed into carefully folded stacks on the common-room table. Harry felt a slight chill from the cold stone that formed the outer walls of the castle and realizing that Hermione might be cold as well, thought “Incendiare” as he pointed a finger at the fireplace. A warm fire sprang into existence, filling the room with heat and light.



The light danced in Hermione\'s eyes as she smiled at Harry. “You’re getting better all the time with the wandless magic. Will you even need the fake wand from Ollivander’s assistant?”



He thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. “Probably not, but it might be good to keep it for show, anyway. There is no point annoying everyone unnecessarily.”



“Bed?” she asked.



“Yes.” Harry wished that they could have both just apparated there, but even within the Head Boy and Girls’ room, apparition was prevented.



Harry picked her up, as he would have a small child, and carried her into their bedroom. They had forty-five minutes before they were going to have to get dressed and he intended to make use of every single one of them.



**********************************************************************************



The procession of dignitaries was long and somber. Traditional bagpipe music played in the background. Hermione, singer that she was, thought she recognized “Amazing Grace” and several other tunes she had grown up with in church. What was most startling was the fact that there weren’t just wizards and witches in attendance. The Goblins were there, as were members of the Elf Council, and others whom they could not recognize. Firenze and others from the Centaurs were there. Then Harry saw Her. A old, diminutive woman flanked by two powerful-looking bodyguards, wearing a tailored silk dress and a crown. Harry and Hermione were both completely flummoxed. Did she know about our world? Did she know, Albus? Harry looked at Hermione and her eyes were bright, but also swimming with questions.



Finally, it was their turn. They brought up the rear. When McGonagall approached them to tell them where they would be, they thought that they’d be in with the rest of the students (the real heroes, in their minds) who entered first. That idea was quickly shot down. They were told, quite firmly, that they would enter last.



Both he and Hermione had protested strongly, claiming rightly that they were no more important that McGonagall herself or Ginny, Ron, or a half-dozen other people who fought that night.



Their protestations and attempts at humility were brushed aside, to their frustration.



Hand in hand, Hermione joined the end of the processional and entered the hall, just as the last of the music was trailing off. Places for them to sit had been established to the visual right of the Headmaster’s podium. It irked them both that they should be so singled out. It was never what either of them had wanted. Hermione knew how much Harry didn’t want it and it made her resent it that much more. She felt Harry ‘touch the Jaguar’ and knew he was itching to change and run off into the forbidden forest, rather than face having to speak.



The woman to Dumbledore’s visual left sat down. Seeing that she had done so, the audience sat down, and Dumbledore rose to speak. It was his school, after all, and his right to address the audience first. He turned to speak directly to the woman to his left.



“Your Royal Majesty, welcome. It has been five hundred years since our Sovereign last came to Hogwarts. We are honored by your presence. I recognize that this school is a surprise to you and the sentient creatures with whom you now share the stage were unknown to you not three hours ago. I hope that their presence, and the things that they will tell you when you speak with them afterwards, will give you much to think about as you consider what the real shape is of this land that you govern. Students, Ladies and Gentlemen, families and friends of Hogwarts, thank you all for your presence here today.



Today is a hard day for all of us. We gather to morn those who have passed from us and to hear from the two people were most responsible for bringing an end to Tom’s reign of terror.



We all mourn. We all have holes in our hearts that were once places occupied by living, breathing, laughing people. Today I want to talk about what we can do to help patch those holes. Most all of you know that I sent my brother and Sirius Black to find Tom Riddle and his followers before the last battle. I knew, as did they, that what I was asking was perhaps suicidal, but that it had to be done. I don’t know how to tell you how hard it was to ask them to do that job. I asked them to go because I believed that Tom and his followers were moving on the village of Dane. I was wrong. It was a faint, to draw me out and away from Hogwarts and, particularly, away from Harry. I was risking my brother’s life and the life of Harry’s last living relative to get information that I believed we desperately needed. I don’t know how to ask Harry for his forgiveness for spending his godfather’s life that way. There are no ways that I can ‘make it up to him’.



The Headmaster paused and looked at Harry and Hermione. They saw in the Headmaster’s eyes the tears that had been threatening for some time. He looked sad, old, frail, and tired.



There have been too many secrets. Secrets upon secrets until we were all sick of them. I am not going to spend your time telling you all of the pieces of information that I have been protecting, or telling you all why things happened. Except for one. I am going to tell you all, now, why it was Harry who had to face Tom in the end and why it was his victory – their victory, really – that we celebrate today, while we remember those we lost.



Fourteen months before James and Lily were killed by Tom, I met with Professor Sybill Patricia Trelawney at the Hog’s Head Inn. She was the great, great, great granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney, the renowned seer. I did not know what to expect from her, and I was leery of having Divination taught as a subject at Hogwarts, but I owed her the courtesy of a meeting, so we met.



During our meeting, her head fell back and in a voice I cannot describe to you, she said:



"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."



There were gasps in the crowd, as individuals started to work out what the prophecy meant and what it would require of Harry. The Headmaster continued, unperturbed by the increasing murmurs in the audience.



It was, as far as I could tell, a legitimate prophecy and I had to act. I knew that Lily Potter was pregnant and expecting soon. They fit the description of those who had thrice defied Tom and his murderous band and I was unwilling to take a chance that their son was the one described in the prophecy, so we devised a plan to send them into hiding, using the Fidelius charm. Initially, I had intended to be the secret keeper, but Sirius Black asked me to pass the honor to him, because he was James’ best friend.



I did not know that at the end, Sirius has passed the duty of secret keeper to Peter Pettigrew. Peter, as you know, was the one that betrayed James and Lily. He was the one Sirius was hunting and it was Peter who killed those twelve people and framed Sirius for the murder.



I knew that we had to protect Harry; to put him beyond reach until he was old enough, and he could come to Hogwarts and begin his magical education. I placed him in a home where I thought he would be safe. In retrospect, it was a decision that could not have been worse. I will not presume here to describe what Harry experienced while in their care, except to say that it was a horrendous mistake.



That was not my last mistake, either, but it might have been the most personally hurtful.



That we have survived to gather here today is in no way thanks to me. I fear that I have become the one thing that my critics have always worried about: a doddering old fool who’s lost his guiding principals and strength. It is time for me to begin the process of stepping down as Headmaster. I announced two years ago that my dearest friend, Minerva McGonagall, would take over when I left. Over the summer, I made discreet inquiries with my friends at the Wizengamot and I have been assured now that my choice will be supported. So, when the spring semester begins here at Hogwarts, I will step down and let my beautiful, life-long friend Minerva take over.



I want you all to know how sorry I am for the losses we have all experienced. I have said it before and no doubt will say it again, that those we love are never truly gone while they live in our hearts. Let us hold fast to all of the good things that made those who have been taken from us the people they were. Let us remember with joy the times that we shared.



My final gift to the school as Headmaster will be a communal pensieve, to be installed in the schools’ atrium, so that our memories of our friends can life forever and can be shared. I will help all those who ask to extract, share or store, their memories so that they will never be lost.



In closing, let me say that we have a great opportunity and a chance for real freedom ahead of us, if we seize it. We should not be prisoners of old ways of doing things, nor should we return to old beliefs about status or honors due us simply because of what family we were fortunate enough to be born into. We have seen horrendous amounts of death and loss. Let us now celebrate life and be inclusive of any who have magic, rather than exclusive.



I have been headmaster here for over thirty years and in that time; I have seen great courage, wisdom, loyalty and most of all, love. My last official act as Headmaster, fittingly, will be to officiate at the wedding of Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Granger. They have been tremendous examples of the power of love, fidelity, and loyalty. Many more of us should emulate them.



There was great applause the announcement and a ripple of discussion, as the applause died down.



For the moment, my words are done. I have neither wit nor wisdom enough to know what should be done next. The course we take at Hogwarts is going to be up to all of you. I know that none of you will disappoint me or yourselves, if you always act with love and courage and honor what all of us have fought and died for.



May Merlin bless you all.



Almost as one body, the audience rose and gave the Headmaster an ovation for his years of service and his untiring leadership. After a minute, the woman whom Dumbledore had first acknowledged rose and moved to the podium.



Ladies and Gentlemen; students and honored guests, I am overwhelmed. This morning – actually just over four hours ago – the Prime Minister of England came to me in my office and told me that he needed me to clear my schedule and join him on a short flight to Scotland and that I would be gone all day. As he had never asked me to do any such thing before, I gave in to my curiosity and accompanied him.



I did not expect that I would be brought to such a place. I did not know, until we were safely in the helicopter, that Hogwarts even existed. He then handed me pictures. Pictures that moved. I was so startled by what he showed me that I nearly cried out. Then he told me about this man…this creature that you called Voldemort and what he and his followers had been doing in England. He also told me that we muggles, a term I do not understand, could not oppose Voldemort one on one. That he was too powerful for even our best anti-terrorist squads to cope with.



Turning to look at Hermione, and then Harry, she continued



He told me then about Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter and what these two incredibly brave young people had done. He also told me about the friends here at Hogwarts who had fought along side them and protected them, as sort of a magical anti-terrorist squad.



I had to admit that at first, I did not believe any of it. It was outlandish and so beyond the pale as to be unbelievable. Then we landed and were met by the Headmaster. He put a special bracelet on my wrist, so that I could enter the grounds. He led me and the PM to the carriage. I was greeted by a creature so bizarre and other-worldly that I could scarcely credit my own eyes. The Headmaster saw that I could see the creature and asked me when I had seen death. I told him about being young and seeing one of my uncles’ die. Albus told me that the creature I was looking at was called a Thestral and that there were over sixty of the creatures living in and around the school grounds.



I began to believe. As we rode onto the grounds of the school, we were met by students, dressed as all of you are now. Then I saw something that I just knew was not possible. A young man flying on a broom.



The students and teachers in the crowd laughed. Flying was so normal to them as to be a source of pleasure and sport and no treated with the same wonderment.



I have seen every sort of mode of transportation in my life, but that was almost too much. When we were led inside, I was startled to see pictures moving and I was greeted aloud by the images in many of them. It was getting to be too much for an old woman’s heart and I doubted that I could bear much more. The Headmaster sensed my distress, I think, and led us to his private office, so that I could learn the full story of why I had been brought here and what it meant – for me and for my government – and for the people of our country.



When I heard the full story, I was aghast. That our country was saved by two fifteen year olds was not just amazing, but heartbreaking. I felt, not perhaps for the first time, that I had failed my country. After the PM confided to me that he had felt just as powerless to do anything has I did in that moment and that we could not have been blamed for the rise of Tom Riddle and his evil followers, I despaired that I should ever be looked to again to protect our nation or rally the people of this great country.



I began to get some sense of the just how much it cost this school when the Headmaster told me that over thirty students were killed that awful night. He spoke, with the same sadness you heard moments ago, about the loss of his only surviving sibling, and about losing Sirius Black, Harry’s last living magical relative, and all the students who were taken that night.



Harry, Hermione, I know, because your Headmaster insisted, that you not be granted frivolous honors recognizing your heroism or inducted into the Peerage, or anything that might set you further apart from those you love. So I won’t. I will tell you both though that this nation is forever in your debt. It is a debt we cannot repay, even in part, but my gratitude, and the gratitude of my government, will always be yours. Should you ever have need, my door is open to you.



I know that others are waiting to speak, so I will conclude with this. Hogwarts will never lack for funds or support, ever, so long as the House of Windsor has anything to say about it.



In this moment of sadness, may God bless you all.



She turned, after receiving the applause of the audience, took Harry and Hermiones’ hands in hers, and thanked each of them quietly and personally. They waited for her to seat herself before they retook their own seats. Next up to speak was Minerva McGonagall. She was dressed in a dark grey gown, and over it, wore a robe of black silk, with the crest and seal of Hogwarts over the breast. She looked powerful, but somber. Her deep blue eyes - the eyes that had pierced so many students - were softened in the moment as she approached the podium.



“Your Majesty, Ladies and Gentlemen, students and honored guests. I am not a fan of long-winded speeches. Some things do have to be said though, and since the Headmaster has told us all what his plans are, I am compelled to react.



First, I have never known a more powerful or more caring teacher or administrator in my entire life. Albus has served the needs of students for over sixty years now and in that time, he has protected students, counseled student, officiated at more than a few weddings, and helped many others find their paths in life. I should be quite fortunate to be able to accomplish a tenth of what he has in my time as Headmistress. None the less, I will do my best and be overjoyed to be so honored.



As for mistakes - we have all made them. I, no less so than Albus. If I had listened to Hermione and Harry at the end of their first year, when they came to me and told me that the Sorcerers’ Stone was threatened, we might have found a way to make Tom’s return forever unattainable, but I didn’t and for that mistake, we have paid dearly.



I regret, too, that I didn’t personally teach Harry separately. I could have. I knew about the prophecy and had the time, but I didn’t do it. I will rectify that this year, without a doubt. Both Hermione and Harry, and many, many others of my students over the years, deserved to have more of my teaching time. I should have let someone else administrate. I never liked it, anyway. I didn’t even want it. I did it because there wasn’t someone else to do it. That is a personal regret. That Hermione showed Harry how to do the animagus transformation is a testament to her and never to me. Hermione truly is the brightest witch in five hundred years and Harry is lucky to have her as his bride. She will do things in the future that will be spoken about with wonder and awe. Of that, I am sure.



I want to talk about those we lost and tell you what they meant to me.



Aberforth was a friend of mine. Somehow, when I was feeling low, he knew how to make me laugh. Yes, he was gruff, but he cared about me. He liked making me smile and I never had to worry about being bothered when I was in the Hog’s Head. Aberforth was a good man. Simple, quiet, gentle, and kind to those he called a friend.



Sirius Black. I am deeply ashamed of myself in regards to Sirius. For the longest time, I was convinced that Sirius had killed those twelve people and that he had been justly sent to Azkaban. I was so very wrong. Sirius was never a murderer. There was nothing but love and gentleness in his soul, especially where Harry was concerned. He never stopped advocating for Harry\'s interests and he was willing to do anything to help Harry and Hermione beat Tom. I would like to believe that when Tom killed him, that Sirius was able to cross over and be with James, Lily, and all the others who knew him so well and loved him so much. Sirius deserved that, and more. I cried when he was taken, if not for him, for Harry and Hermione. There was still so much to be said and shared between them.



McGonagall paused for a moment to dry her eyes and to look at Hermione and Harry. They were holding each others’ hands and looking like they desperately wanted to be elsewhere. There was sadness in their eyes.



Let me talk about John and Natalie Grames. They were twins in their first year, killed by Tom, on that awful night. Simply because no one knew where Hermione and Harry were, Riddle cut out John’s tongue. When Natalie ran to her brother, to hold him and comfort him in his terror, Riddle killed her. He threw her life away carelessly. When her brother saw that, he charged Riddle and tried to strike him. Riddle burned him down, too. They were two of the more than thirty students who were killed. Each was precious and each important to someone here. Let us never forget them.



I didn’t know until this morning that John and Natalie’s educations were being paid for by an anonymous donor who’s here today. I don’t know if I have permission to discuss it further, but to that person I say – thank you. The school was better and happier for their presence.



Harry was holding Hermione’s hand, desperately trying not to cry or betray how he felt about the loss of John and his sister. They had been orphans too and it had come to Harry’s attention, courtesy of the Daily Prophet, in early September of their forth year, that the twins had lost their parents and were too poor to attend Hogwarts. He was able to find them and through the help of Fred and George, fund their educations. It might have been the only good thing that the miserable rag had ever done, Harry thought.



He had told Hermione about it, of course, during their early months together; after they had left St. Mungo’s and were hidden away in Godrics’ Hollow.



Minerva knew that neither Hermione nor Harry wanted to be outed – at least not without their permission. She wondered why they were so reticent sometimes. Other times, such as when Rita was on a tare, that it was all too obvious why the Potters didn’t want to be known for what they did, either separately or together.



Let me talk about one more person before I step away from this podium. There was a house elf, named Kimmy, who was a long-time companion and friend of the Headmaster. You will not see her name in the paper, nor will you hear her spoken of in traditional wizarding circles, but she was very, very important to the Headmaster, to me, and to all those whom she knew and cared about. Kimmy was an extraordinarily loving Elf and she was always making cookies or finding ways to make the Headmaster’s life easier. You see, she helped to raise Albus and Aberforth when they were young boys. She was their protector and friend. She taught them both elf-magic and showed them how to see the colors of magic that are all around us.



There is a plaque where she lays, forever resting, near Sirius Black’s tomb. Let me read to you what the marker says:



Here lies Kimmy the Elf:

Faithful friend, companion, and protectress.

Life, love, laughter, and joy were yours.

1840 -1998



Albus, my friend and mentor, has always said that the measure of a man is how he treats not his equals, but those thought to be his inferior. Kimmy was never inferior to anyone and for that reason – the fact that she was a wizards’ equal and she knew it, because of how she was treated – gave her the confidence to live her life in the way she wanted. She did what she believed was right and she died doing what she knew was important.



I am done. There is nothing more that I can say that will help us all remember those we lost.



May Merlin be with us, always, and may God save the Queen.



Finally, it was Hermione’s turn to speak. She got up and walked over and knelt before their guest. “Your Majesty. Thank you for what you said.” After she was given leave to rise, Hermione stood and turned to stand up at the podium. With a flick of her wand, she made the platform just a few inches higher, so that she could look out better over the assembled audience.



“Your Majesty, Professors, my friends – my family. I was asked to speak, though I know not why. I was too close; much, much too close to the things that happened that night, to be objective about any of it. I hate Tom Marvolo Riddle. I will always hate him. I will hate him for Sirius’ sake, and for Kimmy’s sake, and for the sake of John and Natalie and all of the others. He forced me to grow up much faster than I should have had to do. He made me face death and he made me have to kill. Most of all, he tried to kill my husband.



There was a sudden, collective intact of breath as Hermione said ‘husband’. Many in the audience had seen Rita Skeeter\'s article in the Daily Prophet, but had not credited it as being a reliable source of news. For once, Minerva McGonagall allowed herself to smirk, as she leaned close to Filius Flitwick and said ‘See? Pay up’.



Hermione looked around at the crowed. “Yes, it is in fact true. While we have not had the official ceremony yet, as the Headmaster alluded to in his comments, we are bonded, so it amounts to little difference. To the seventh year girls who have been hoping it was otherwise, I send my condolences.”



She paused, as the ripple of laughter among the students died down. “That’s not what I came to say, at least not directly, but it touches on a point that I was going to make, which I will get back to. No, what I came to say today is something that I have observed. It was actually talked about indirectly in the prophecy that Professor Trelawney made.



Part of the prophecy, you remember, was “but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...“.



Several nights ago, while Harry and I were having dinner with the Headmaster, he told us that there is a door in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry for Magic, behind which is the most mysterious subject of study in the Department. He described it as “a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature.” He said to Harry “It is the power held within that room that you [Harry] possess in such quantities and which Voldemort had not at all”.



If it wasn’t abundantly clear before, let me make it clear now - that power was love. Not complicated magic or legacies or anything like that. Just love.



What finally took down Tom was Harry’s fury that I had been hurt or perhaps killed. It was just enough, or perhaps more than enough, to push him over the edge into that special place from whence come extraordinary things. On that night, that terrible, cold, black night, Harry got to that special, but terrifying place, where he could summon the power, the determination, and the courage enough to destroy Tom forever.



Tom had made a fundamental mistake. He underestimated us. He thought he could toy with us and force us into a confrontation on his terms. He was wrong. We had a trick up our sleeves too.”



Hermione reached down inside herself and ‘touched the lioness’, becoming the great cat right on the platform where everyone could see. Knight was right next to her, nuzzling her. After a moment, they reverted. The applause for the demonstration caught her off guard for a moment and she had to wait for it to pass before she could continue.



“Pretty cool, eh?” She smiled as the applause started up again briefly. “Not bad for a couple of fifteen year old students. Well, Tom didn’t expect any such thing. He always was stupid when it came to things like that. Thank God!



Now, about my husband. Professor McGonagall left you all with the impression that I was I who made our animagus transformations possible. She assumed that I was the one who ‘figured it out’ and led Harry step by step through the process. That is completely not true. Sorry, Professor. Yes, I made the potion, but without Harry’s incredible magic and his natural affinity for the tokening process, we would never have even accomplished even step one. Harry has greater magic than I’ve ever seen. He may in fact be more powerful than the Headmaster. I understand that may be my love for him talking – my pride in being his wife – or it may be the objective truth. Time will tell.



Some have asked why the two of us are together. I would think that is obvious, but I will tell you. You see, what I have felt with Harry is love - the kind of love that they write books about. It is unselfish love. It is a giving, devoted love that always assumes the best about me. It is the kind of love that makes me want to have as many children with him as he wants to have, because I know that the greatest love and the greatest experiences I will ever have will be with him and our family.



That brings me to another point. The greatest revenge we can have, now that Tom is finally gone for good, is to live well and to have the kind of relationships that he would have worked so hard to prevent. Let your sons and daughters marry whom they will, not those whom you would have them marry. Who cares if yours is a ‘pureblood’ family or if you’re all a bunch of half-bloods or whatever. Just in case you’re wondering, and if you didn’t know it already, there’s no such thing as a pureblood family. I’ve done the research and I can guarantee, with a high degree of confidence, that no wizarding family is pure. It’s basic Mendelian genetics. See me afterwards if you don’t believe me. I’ll be happy to show you.



Today is supposed to be a day of remembrance, so I will tell you the people I want to have us all remember. It’s the families of muggle-borns like me, who were killed simply because Tom and his murderous thugs thought it was funny to kill their parents and siblings. We – the students of Hogwarts – must hold fast to those students among us who lost their families. We must be their families and support system now. If we are going to be true to the path that the Headmaster has laid before us, it is the only thing we can do.



I want to get back to the point which I said I would address earlier and it ties in with my last point. We cannot be afraid of emotional commitment. In fact, if we are going to be true to the best ideals from our three houses, we must never be afraid to talk about how we are feeling; accept support when it is offered; or to have the courage to face what we are feeling with honesty and integrity. Of course, I’m not one to talk about this really. I knew, practically from the first moments when I laid eyes on Harry for the first time, that my heart, and my love where his to have forever.



This is something no one has ever heard me say before and I am sure that the papers would have a field day with it, if they did. You see, I had a chance, just before Harry entered the room where the Mirror of Erised had been hidden by the Headmaster – where I knew he was going to face either Severus Snape or Tom Riddle – to tell him that I loved him. I was afraid to say the words, so I didn’t. In fact, I put it off all through our second year together, and then our third. When our fourth year came, things happened such that one night, just before Christmas break, Harry and I were alone in the Gryffindor common room together. That was the night that the truth finally came out. We have been together ever since.



The point is that we got there, but the path was long and winding. I believe that if we’re more honest with each other, and less afraid of what others might think, that there would be many more couples together in the world and fewer unhappy, lonely people.



I could say more. All of you know that I could say more, but I won’t. Thank you all for being her and for your incredible support.



God bless us all.



With that, Hermione left the podium. There was tumultuous applause for her and it was such that she had to turn and once again acknowledge them. Once she sat down, Harry got up very slowly and walked to the podium. He was as hesitant about this as anything he had ever done. They were there for him. They wanted to here him.



“Your Majesty; professors and students, honored guests. I don’t have very good words for you. Public speaking is not my gift. Hermione is the one you should listen to. I can, however, show you what happened that night. It’s right that all of you know the unvarnished truth.



Harry began to focus his magic. He let it infuse him and surround him. He reached out to Hermione and she opened herself to him; to share her magic with him. In a moment, Harry clapped his hands above his head and then spread his hands wide, to direct the effect that he was seeking. The ceiling of the Great Hall went black and images started to form.



First, they saw the great black snake, Nagini, coming out of the stygian woods and gathering itself behind Hermione. They saw it prepared to strike her from behind; felt Harry’s rage as he gathered his power to destroy the great snake. “Reducto!” His voice boomed in the hall as the head of the snake and a good portion of its body was blown to little bits.



The power of his spell was such that it drew eyes to their direction. The audience gathered in the hall heard Tom’s sibilant voice “I know you’re there, Harry Potter! Come forward or watch everyone here die!”



The audience gasped in horror as they saw a horrible green flash lanced out from Tom’s wand, striking down a child who had been cowering in McGonagall’s arms.



There were real tears in the audience now. Harry could hear McGonagall crying behind him. Hermione was holding him tight, as he let the scene play out above their heads.



Harry remembered the cold, black hatred he had felt in that moment, as the golden trio stepped out to face Tom for the last confrontation. As the scene played forward, Hermione and Ron were stripped of their wands. Everyone heard Tom say “No. Not Potter’s. Leave him his wand. Harry and I have a duel to finish.”



Through Harry’s eyes, the audience saw Hermione and Ron were herded into the pack of Hogwarts survivors by their Death Eater escort. Harry felt sad that he could not convey to the audience the fear that he had felt that night for them and the fact that he dared not let his terror show for fear that he might get his friends killed or tortured.



The audience watched as Harry approached Tom and saw Tom’s vicious smile. “Why, Harry… has it only been a few months? I would have owled, but you’ve been cursedly difficult to track down these days.”



Harry’s voice carried in the hall “You have me now; Voldemort… let the others go.”



Tom looked at the captive children and professors with a cold, calculating look. “Oh, I’m afraid that won’t do at all.”



Harry cringed as he heard his own voice “You… you said if I surrendered you wouldn’t kill them.”



Tom’s voice was mocking “Well, didn’t you hear the pretty words you wanted to hear then? I said come forward and you wouldn’t have to watch them die. You can’t very well do that if you’re dead first, now can you?”



Tom shook his head. “Let the others go. Really, Harry… did you think I would show such a Dumbledore-like weakness?” The audiences’ reaction to that comment was visceral. The anger was palatable.



The scene shifted, so that the audience could see the faces of the professors. McGonagall looked close to tears while Professor Sprout looked ferocious. Flitwick was holding his side together, where he had been struck by a cutting curse.



Tom tossed Harry his wand. “Your wand, Potter,”



The image focused back on Tom as Harry’s voice was heard again. “We’ll duel if that’s what you bloody want, but there’s no reason to keep the others.”



Tom was almost laughing, “You see, but there is reason. First, they’ll watch me kill you once and for all, the famous Harry Potter, then they’ll die. Then I’ll have your corpse strung up in the Great Hall over that meddling old fool’s chair. Their bodies,” he gestured at the whimpering prisoners, “shall attend you; the Great Hall was built for students to fill, after all. What I wouldn’t give to see the look on the muggle-lover’s face when he walks into his precious Great Hall to see his tables of lifeless students and professors, but most of all, you. Let his failure look down upon him every minute of the rest of his life, short as that will be. Never again shall he presume to think he can defy me! Elegant in its simplicity, don’t you think? And I should think the message will be quite clear.” Voldemort gave an elaborate bow, black robes billowing.



The anger that had been stirring in the audience was so palpable now that he wasn’t sure that he should continue the scene.



They all saw Harry bow just slightly at the waist.



Tom smiled. “Shame that it’s only before your death that you learn your manners,” he said lowly. “Farewell, Harry Potter.”



Tom screamed, “Avada Kedavra!”



Harry’s reaction was just as fast. “Expelliarmous!”



Everyone witnessed the impact of the spells against each other and the creation of the Priori incantatum effect. They saw, just has Harry had, the power of Tom’s curse march backward towards Harry’s wand. They witnessed in disbelief the impact and saw Harry’s wand turn to ash.



Tom taunted him “Problem with your wand, Potter?”



Harry wished that the audience could have experienced what he had felt in that moment. The fear of dying warring inside him with his desire to live – to live for and with Hermione forever. He couldn’t communicate with all of them the idea that formed in his mind; the thing that might save him.



The now-dead Death Eaters crept ever closer, slavering for the kill like omega dogs begging at the alpha’s frothing muzzle.



“Time to join your father and mudblood mother,” Voldemort snarled in distaste at Harry.



Tom focused himself on killing Harry. Harry knew what he was preparing to do. “Avada Kedavra!”



A great cheer went up as they saw Knight leap at the Death eater nearest him. They saw the blood, but didn’t’ feel the joy that Harry felt to be able to act; to surprise Tom and take out his revenge for all those students who had already died.



“What is this?!” Tom’s face had turned to rage as he watched the great black cat killing his followers. “Kill them all!”



The audience cheered again; even more loudly, if that was possible, when Sagehunter started tearing apart a Death eater closest to her.



Chaos erupted and people held hands or clutched each other as they witnessed Professors leading their charges away from the battle.



For a moment, the scene shifted to Ron and Ginny Weasley beating another Death eater into senselessness.



Suddenly, four death eaters were dead and another was running for his life, with Sagehunter in hot pursuit. There was another gasp as Tom pointed his wand, not at Harry, but at Sagehunter.



At that moment, Harry and the magic he was channeling to make the images possible, started to falter. Hermione felt it and focused her magic into his, so that he could feel her love and support.



The moment that the curse struck Sagehunter, there was a palpable, magical wave of almost pure hatred in the hall. It threatened to take his breath away as the power of the emotion swept over him. Hermione was a symbol of excellence and hope to many in the audience, Harry realized, and he recognized in that moment just how important she was to the school.



They saw the curse from Tom’s wand catch her across the back, creating a massive gash raced across her flesh, tearing open a bloody valley in her skin. They heard her piercing scream and saw her blood splatter across the white snow. She twisted in the air from the force of the curse hitting her, sending her cart wheeling, like a kitten tossed from a moving car. She flipped and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. And she didn’t move.



Tom smiled, seemingly unconcerned with Knight’s snarl of purest rage, as the great cat ran straight at him. It was as if he didn’t realize that death was looking him in the eye, as it came charging.



Tom’s wand came back. Not in time. All he got out was “Avada…” and then Knight was on him.



The images everyone was seeing were gruesome, but the people in the Hall were on their feet, cheering and screaming, as green-black blood went everywhere. They kept cheering as Knight looked down on his prey.



The lasting image was of Tom dropping to one knee. They all watched has he braced himself with a hand while his other tried to hold in his pouring blood. They couldn’t smell the horrible stench from Tom’s eviscerated intestines. Tom staggered, his blood spreading in a vivid rose-red stain on the snow, and he looked up into Knight’s cold eyes.



A cheer sprang up in the Hall “Kill him, kill him, kill him”



“The Boy…” Tom hissed, his breath very shallow, “Who Lived.” He managed a weak, sinister smile of pointed, stained teeth.



The next image as a terrible close-up, as Knight’s teeth sank into Tom’s throat. The scene shook, as Knight thrashed back and forth, his teeth cutting through flesh and bone.



Stepping back, Knight dropped the head of Voldemort to the snow along with a mouthful of blood. Sightless, slitted eyes stared up at Knight from the detached head, the mouth frozen open in a silent scream before his vocal cords had been severed.



The hall went berserk with joy and relief as they all witnessed Tom’s body broken and destroyed in the snow.



The ceiling faded, the lights came up. Upon the podium, Hermione and Harry stood, side by side, as they brought their magic back into themselves. Harry looked at her and then pulled her close, so that he could whisper in her ear. When he was done, she nodded and then he moved back into a position to speak again.



There is nothing more to say. You have all now seen what happened. You saw Tom die the death he deserved. My only other thought it is that if it weren’t for my wife’s love and her obsession with learning and growing in her magic, I would never have been able to defeat Tom. We must – all of us – return to a tradition, just as muggles do, of continued learning. Hogwarts can’t be the end of our learning. It should be the beginning – a place to prepare for the next adventure. Let us go out into the world and try new things. Let us never forget those who gave their lives for us. Let’s not disappoint them by not achieving greatness in the things we choose to do with our lives.



To my friends – Ron, Ginny, Neville, Cho, Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Luna Lovegood, Lisa, Anthony, Hannah, Susan, Rebecca, Ernie, Justin, Seamus, Fred, George, Bill, Marietta, Charlie – you have made my life so much better. Thank you. I could not have done what had to be done without all of you.



Let’s go out into the world and show everyone what it really means to be from Hogwarts.



Thank you.



Harry walked over to where the Queen sat and knelt, just has Hermione had done, before her. They exchanged words and then Harry rose at her leave to do so, and returned to his place next to Hermione.



She pulled him close “What did she say to you, Harry?”



Harry smiled at Hermione. “She said ‘I am your friend now, too, Harry. Don’t forget that.”



Before Hermione could respond, Dumbledore stood and looked out over the audience. “Go now in peace.”



With that, the bagpipes began their recessional music. The guests on the platform rose as one, giving the audience silent permission to rise as well, and filed off the stage. Dumbledore, McGonagall, the Queen, as well as the Prime Minister, exited through a hidden door and disappeared. Once they were gone, Harry and Hermione were mobbed by their friends and family. Jake and Miranda came up the right-hand aisle to be close to their daughter and soon to be son-in-law. Hermione saw them and excused herself from the students around her. “Mom! Dad! What are you two doing here? How did you get here?”



“A big, red bird showed up at the house this morning. It had a note on its leg, just like Hedwig, so we took it. The bird waited for us to read the note and the note said to hold onto the birds’ tail-feathers and say ‘we’re ready’, so we did.”



Hermione was laughing as her mother described ‘the big bird’. “Mom, that was a phoenix. It was Fawkes, Dumbledores’ phoenix.”



“Oh. Well, it was a very interesting way to travel. We were pulled up into the sky above our house and then suddenly, we were over a great, rolling field. The phoenix set us down and then we were met by Professor Flitwick. I have to say, I’ve never met a shorter person in my entire life!”



“Oh Mom, he’s …well he’s the Charms professor and a really good teacher.” Hermione couldn’t really get into the fact that Filius Flitwick was half-human, half-goblin. That would have led to very uncomfortable questions.



It was clear from her smile that she appreciated her daughter’s enthusiasm, even if she didn’t share it.



When Harry stopped to consider, he saw Miranda in a very different way. She was dressed in an elegant, if simple, knee-length black silk dress, which she set off with a double-strand of pearls. Harry thought she looked absolutely stunning. Then he realized that Miranda was probably a very good image for what Hermione would look like at the same stage in life. His grin grew wider, if that was possible. Hermione caught his look and leaned in close. “What are you grinning like a maniac about?”



Harry told her and that earned him a very strong, somewhat extended snog from his bride-to-be.



When they separated, Miranda was smiling at the two of them. “So, are you two ready?”



Hermione interlaced her fingers with Harrys’ and returned her mothers’ smile. “Of course, Mom. I have been ready for a long time, I think.”



“I am too, Miranda. I’ve been ready for some time now. We just want to make it happen.”



Hermione took Harry’s hand and indicated that her parents should follow them. As they walked, Hermione said, “We have about three hours to kill before dinner. Are you going to stay? I hope so. Harry and I have class tomorrow and we have Head Boy and Girl duties tonight, or we’d come home with you.”



The four of them walked to an open spot in the foyer and Hermione took from a hidden pocket in her dress robes what Harry knew was her port key. “Mom, Dad, hold onto me and Harry.”



She activated the port key and the four of them fell down into the vortex of magic which was the port key gateway.



****************************************



They materialized in their shared common room a second later. Jake and Miranda looked around approvingly as Harry and Hermione tried to arrange chairs for the four of them. Hermione let out a small ‘eeep’ and grabbed something off the back of one of the chairs before her mother saw it. A cocked eyebrow and Hermione discretely turned her hand over so Harry could see a pair of pink silk knickers balled up. He reached out for them, and carefully pocketed them before her parents realized what was going on.



“So, can we see your rooms?”



Hermione blushed, which was all her mother needed to confirm her suspicion. “Your room, then?”



She shook her head. That was not going to happen, either. There was no way she wanted her mother or father to see the results of the co-mingling of hers’ and Harrys’ things. If knickers were still clinging to be the back of chairs in the common room, she didn’t want to think about what was hanging around in their bedroom. Besides, it’s private, Hermione thought.



The two of them had worked out an understanding about where the line was between what was public and could be talked about and what wasn’t. Harry had shown Hermione what his understanding was when he had refused to tell Ginny about the circumstances surrounding his proposing to her. For Hermiones’ part, Harry knew that Hermione didn’t want to share anything about their intimacy or long-term plans with anyone. That was private.



Harry thought that maybe what was needed was a distraction, so he looked at Jake and Miranda. “Ever seen a giant squid?”



Jake laughed. “On TV, only. They’re only about thirty feet long.”



It was Harry’s turn to laugh. “Ah, no. That’s not what I meant. I meant a GIANT squid. Think ‘one hundred foot tentacles’. “



Jake paled. “Seriously?”



Harry nodded. “Yup. Down in the lake. It’s one of the defenses around Hogwarts that no one knows much about. When it’s hot out, it usually comes up to the surface and waves its tentacles around. We’re never sure if it’s playing or trying to get warm in the sun. You can swim with it, if you have Gillyweed.”



“Gillyweed?” Jake looked incredulous.



Harry grinned. “Gillyweed. Neville Longbottom told me about it. It’s a Mediterranean plant that allows you to breath under water for about an hour by making you grow gills. Apparently, though I’ve never tried it, it’s really cool. Neville did it last year on a dare, apparently. We weren’t here for that. I’m sorry I missed it. He was the talk of the school for two weeks.”



“Would it work for a muggle, as you call us?”



That was an interesting question. The line of demarcation between what did and what didn’t work magically for muggles was uncertain, at best. It had never come up in any of his classes as a subject of discussion, but Hermione had touched on it one evening, when they had been laying in bed, reading side by side.



“Jake, I don’t know. It’s hard to say until we tried it. I’m not sure that I could get Gilly weed if I wanted to, though I suppose Fred and George Weasley would know where to look.”

“Well, it was just a thought. It sounds like a lot of fun.” Jake was grinning at Harry. The magical world did open up possibilities that muggles had never considered before and it was fun to see Jakes’ mind working as he considered it.



Turning to Miranda, Harry said, “Ever seen a kitchen that can feed a thousand people or more?”



Miranda was a consummate professional oral surgeon by day, but by night, or during the weeks-end, she turned into Miranda Granger, super-chef! Harry knew that, because he had seen her energetic efforts in the kitchen a number of times. Her eyes lit up “Really? They’d let me take a tour?”



Harry grinned and said into the air “Dobby?”



A second later, Dobby appeared “Master Harry called Dobby?”



“Hi Dobby. It’s good to see you. Do you remember Hermione’s parents? This is Mr. and Mrs. Granger.”



Dobby smiled a bright, toothy smile and held out his hand, just like Harry had shown him how to do. “Dobby remembers the Grangers. You make ‘Mione very happy. She talks about you a lot with her friends. The other house Elves have been hearing her, they have.”



Miranda kneeled down and looked at Dobby. “Dobby? Jake and I wanted to say that we’re very sorry about your friend, Kimmy. I know that she meant a great deal to you and to the Headmaster. We’re sorry that she was killed by Tom.”



Dobby started to cry. It was something that neither Harry nor Hermione had never seen before. “Dobby is missing his Kimmy. She taught Dobby everything about Hogwarts. She was being my friend.”



Hermione was looking in wonder at Dobby. Elf tears were very magical, because they were so rare. Instinctively, she knelt down next to her mother and, doing as she did, lovingly wiped the tears from Dobby’s face with her finger. “We miss her too, Dobby. She protected us for a long time. It’s all right to cry, you know”



Dobby’s tears continued to flow, as the little Elf shook with his feelings of loss. “Harry? Come here for a moment?”



Harry walked over and knelt down next to the two women. Hermione scooped up a glistening tear onto her finger tip and marked his forehead with it. Then she motioned for him to do the same.



Then they both did the same to Dobby.



“Harry, on three, cast the Legilimens charm on me. Oh, and keep your fingers crossed.”



Harry grinned and did so. Hermione counted down and on ‘three’, Harry cast the non-verbal charm right at Hermiones’ head.



Did it work? He thought, a second later.



Yes! The voice…Hermiones’ voice, came ringing in his head. Wide-eyed with surprise, Harry looked at Hermione, the next question poised on his lips, but still unspoken.



True Legilimency needed constant eye contact. That much he knew. Harry purposefully looked away from her. He looked at Miranda, as she remained kneeling next to Dobby. Your mother is beautiful, Hermione.



I know, Harry. She is.



Hermione grabbed Dobby and threw her arms around him. She hugged him tight and said ‘thank you, Dobby!’



The little Elf looked up at her, his eyes wide, not with fear, but with surprise and something that Harry thought looked an awful lot like love, or at least real affection.



Once she put him down, Dobby hugged her leg and said “Mistress ‘Mione is welcome, always. Dobby is being loved by his favorite witch and wizard. He is the happiest Elf anywhere.”



Miranda got up and backed away, to be caught in the arms of her husband. What was going on was clearly something magical and beyond their understanding. They would have to wait for Hermione or Harry to explain what had just happened between the three of them.



“Dobby? We love you too. You’re family, just as much as my parents are.”



Hermione? Is this still working? Can you tell me what has happened?

Yes, it is, Harry. Your voice is so strong in my thoughts. I can feel what you’re feeling. As to what happened….I took a chance and gambled that using a mutual Legilimency charm and Dobby’s tears would make a mental connection between us permanent. So long as Dobby lives, the connection, I hope, will live. I’m betting that I’m right. I think I am, but I won’t know until tomorrow. If the effect is going to wear off, it will do so after twenty-four hours



Harry closed his eyes for a moment and then reached his hand into the pocket where her discarded silk knickers resided. The mental image that resulted was most definitely lurid.



Oh stop, you. Yes, I’ll find a pair to wear later, just so you can take them off me. In the mean time, BEHAVE!



It’s going to take some time, Hermione, to get used to communicating this way.



I know. Remember; don’t move your lips when you’re talking to me this way.



Should we tell your parents what just happened?



No. I’m not sure I understand it completely yet and so I can’t explain it to them. We’ll not say anything to anyone until we’re sure that this is permanent. If it is, then we can. Until then, let’s just enjoy it.



Harry pushed as much love and desire towards her as he could. I love you!



It was exactly the effect he was looking for. The moment that he spoke the words in his mind, Hermione almost collapsed with rush of desire that she felt from him.



I’ll get you for that, Harry James Potter!



He looked at Jake and Miranda. They were standing, holding each other, and looking at their daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law. They had seen the shiver that Hermione experienced and Miranda’s trained eye caught Harrys’ smile at almost the same moment. She put two and two together and grinned back at him.



“Jake, I think Harry and Hermione need some time alone together.”



“Dear? Didn’t you say that there’s an amazing library here?”



Catching on fast, Harry looked at Dobby. “Dobby? Could you take Mom and Dad on a tour of the library and then the kitchens? For at least...an hour or so?”



Hermione was not slow to understand what her Mother had just done, nor what Harry was asking for.



“Dobby? Could you make sure that they have some time to enjoy a cup of tea? And maybe one of your cookies? I’m sure that they’d love that”



Dobby understood, too, what was going on. He’d been around teenagers long enough, after all.



“Mistress ‘Mione? Dobby would be loving to do that for you and Master Harry. Dobby will be thorough in his tour, he will!”



Smiling, Dobby took Jake and Miranda’s hands and disapparated the three of them.



Now, Mr. Potter. You liked my silk knickers, eh? Wanted to see me in them? I think that could be arranged.



Oh? Shall we then?



Last one to the bedroom then!



And they were off, sprinting towards their secluded refuge.



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A/N – Next chapter – “Tying the Knot”