HARRY POTTER AND THE PROPHECY TRUE

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"I don't know if I can go back there," Harry said, standing beside Mutgeb on the Isle of Morahana. Standing in the sand, looking out into the sea of time, Harry fought his urge to walk into the depths and breath deeply. They had arrived only moments before, yet Harry knew how time here could pass. By now, it could have been days back at Hogwart's or even weeks. His beloved Ginny was undoubtedly buried, which meant he was alone in the world once again. The pain of what he had seen and felt caused Harry's eyes to blur and his heart to ache. He felt cold and empty and nothing would make him feel alive again.

"There is much waiting for you back in the real world," Mutgeb said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You have people who need you and count on you."

"But I don't have Ginny."

"Perhaps the real thing you wish for, you have yet to discover." Harry blinked his eyes. He still had his wish. He had once planned on bringing his parents back, but he never honestly thought he would live to make that wish. Nor did he ever think he would loose the only person to make him feel whole. Reaching inside his shirt, he pulled the teardrop crystal out by the chain, holding it in his hands and closing his eyes.

"Not here Harry," Mutgeb interrupted, placing her hand on his shoulder. "This is not the time or the place. You must go back to Hogwart's and those who need you most." Harry frowned, but felt the throbbing of his head start and didn't feel much like trying to guess the meaning of another riddle. He slipped the chain back against his chest, hearing a soft sound echo behind him. Turning he saw the two witches walking toward them, a small bundle in their arms.

"There is someone I think you should see first," Mutgeb said, taking the small child from Frynani. Harry frowned, remembering how much Ginny loved the child staring up at him.

"I don't want to see that thing," Harry said in a gruff tone.

"Why?" Sharane asked in a light tone. "What has the child done to you?"

"It's the seed of my enemy," Harry insisted, turning back to the crystal clearness of the ocean. "If it were up to me, I'd have left it in the nearest pit."

"So you blame the child, for what her father has done?" Mutgeb asked. "That sounds strangely familiar doesn't it?"

"How?" Harry asked, frowning again.

"Weren't you blamed for the actions of your father? Didn't you have a professor that believed you were responsible for the things your father did to him in the past?" Harry drew a deep breath, glancing back to the small baby, amazed that she looked no more than a few days older than when they had delivered her to Mutgeb months before.

"There was a difference," Harry insisted. "My father didn't kill hundreds of innocent people."

"No, he simply tormented an innocent child." Harry sighed. He would never have thought of Snape as an innocent child.

"I will never accept that...creature."

"Blood runs deep, Harry," Sharane insisted, softly.

"Perhaps the blood you blame for the creation of the child should be considered by its donor." Harry frowned as he stared at the pudgy form of Frynani.

"Voldemort was little more than mortal for many years," Mutgeb said. "A small child caused his demise, remember?"

"Yeah, and he killed my parents before I could cause his demise, remember?"

"But there was something he stole from you years later, something that brought him back, something that gave him back his life," Frynani said with a raise of her eyebrow.

"He used my blood and his father's bones to bring himself back to life, for all that was worth," Harry said with a narrowing of his eyes and a set jaw, remembering how he had killed Cedric and stole his blood like a common thief. "Still, he was nothing but a despicable rodent. Why should any of that concern me now?"

"Blood runs deep," Sharane said again, as they all fell into silence. Harry was wrapped up in his own thoughts, memories of what he had gone through over the past seventeen years. So much had happened, it was hard to imagine it had been such a short time. Once a child alone, to a wizard in a world he could only dream of. Now the savior of that world, but at costs that was too deep to bear.

"Are you ready to go?" Mutgeb asked with a heavy sigh. Harry couldn't speak, he could only nod. He didn't want go back, he wanted to disappear and hide until fate caught up to him and took him to join his Ginny. He turned and began to walk beside the witch and her small bundle, back up the beach. He couldn't help but look down at the small child. She was quite pretty and looked up at him sweetly, reaching a hand unsteadily toward him. Even though he didn't want to openly admit it, it wasn't hard to see why Ginny had fallen in love with her. Her dark hair was flipped on the top of her head in a delicate curl tied with a tiny pink bow, her green eyes staring up at him. She had a tiny little nose and the shape of her mouth was like that of his mother's. It was strange, but for a moment, he could see Lily in her tiny face.

"Blood runs deep," he heard again, his mind going over the words Sharane said. There was something there, something hidden in the words that he frowned at, again sniffing at the use of riddles.

"He used my blood," Harry whispered, stopping dead in the sand a few moments later, his eyes wide as he stared at the child. "He used my blood," he repeated, then glanced up to the smiling face of Mutgeb. "My blood...my...no! It's not possible!"

"Why isn't it, Harry?" Mutgeb asked softly.

"Because that's not how it's done. I know enough about life to know how babies are conceived. I couldn't be responsible...never."

"The magic that created this child was great and powerful, rare and never tried before," Sharane said stepping up behind him. "The evil one could not have created her the way you would have, Harry, it was not physically possible for him. Even after stealing your blood, the spell he used to bring himself back to life was...altered. He was not one hundred percent human. It took the magic of very ancient spells to bring to life this little angel. Spells forgotten and forbidden, centuries ago. The spell unfortunately, had been discovered by in the Chamber of Secrets, just as the spell that brought him back to life had. The spells fortunately, have died with him and will never again reveal their power, but they were used once and that was all it took."

"And the blood that he stole from you," Frynani added, "was just as necessary to create the child, as it had been to bring him back to life."

"But Bellatrix was the mother," Harry insisted.

"She was the house that grew her, nothing more than an incubator," Mutgeb said. "The child was created with magic, not with genetics. She may have given birth to the baby, but she was never the mother." Harry stepped closer to the child and looked down at her.

"But how could my blood have created her?" Harry said with a frown, unable to comprehend the depths of such magic. "I mean, my blood didn't create Voldemort."

"No, perhaps not originally," Mutgeb said. "But it was your blood that was necessary to transform him from the creature he was, to the human you killed."

"Does that mean, the baby is like him, as well?"

"No Harry. The child is an innocent. The spell that was used was not preformed exactly as it had originally been written. If it had, the child would have been a boy and the deed would have been done. His life would have been sacrificed and Lord Voldemort would never have been defeated."

"I still don't understand," Harry said with a heavy sigh.

"Do you remember when you set the python loose on your cousin at the zoo?" Mutgeb asked. Harry nodded. "Do you remember how you were amazed that you could have heard its voice?" Again Harry nodded. "You did that through magic, there was no evil in the creature that made you hear it. But there was a gift given to you, all though from Voldemort, that made you able to understand the snake. The creature didn't ask to be born in the form it was, yet by setting it free, you released it from life fate had created it for. If the spell Voldemort had use, had been performed correctly, the child would not have been born human. As it was, the necessary items needed in creating the spell were...changed from the original writings."

"Changed? How?"

"Over the centuries, many spells that had been deemed unsuitable or dangerous were altered from their original writings, to prevent deadly and serious consequences to the user. Salazar Slytherin learned of such alterations and went in search of the spells in order to correct them. He found a civilization in the jungles that followed him and helped him find the magic once lost. You saw the temples and the ruins on your trek this past summer."

"The Mayans," Harry said knowingly.

"Slytherin knew one day a pureblood would want to finish his work, and by providing the spells to that person, he would be guaranteeing the order of the outcome. The wizarding world would bow to those responsible and the power would be unchallenged. Muggles would die or be turned into slaves and the world would cease to be as we know it today."

"It nearly happened just that way," Harry said softly, glancing back to the child who blinked at him.

"Yes, but a small child, innocent and very powerful put a stop to the evil," Sharane said with a smile across her thin lips.

"But at a great cost," Harry whispered.

"And now, with the spells gone forever and the evil that sought to take over the world destroyed, there is little left to cause a problem," Fraying said.

"But who altered the spells?" Harry asked, glancing up to the three and watching the color rise to their cheeks, as Sharane and Frynani shifted uneasily on their feet.

"It was necessary," Mutgeb said honestly. "We knew of the spells, actually we used them to create this island. Once we had realized the full extent of the power, we knew there would be no hope for the world if they were found. We thought we could simply alter them and make them harmless, but a few were impossible to change completely, all we could do was change them so they would have a different outcome. Such was the case with the spell used to create the child." Harry stared at the baby for several moments, trying to absorb the information slowly sinking in.

"That's why you sent me after her," Harry said, realization beginning to take hold of him. "That's why you wanted me to take her to Gilda."

"Yes Harry. Two tasks were accomplished that day," Mutgeb said. "You saved the child from Bellatrix, who had plans of taking control from Voldemort and you showed an old woman, that life goes on. Gilda chose to return to the wizarding world, after seeing the child. In her mind, there was little left of life, outside of the one she chose for herself. Once she saw this little sweetie, she understood how much of life had slipped by her. She knew it was time to return." Harry smiled, thinking of how many times he had asked her to come back, and all it took in the end was a baby's tender smile.

"You sent me on those tasks last year, to help restore order, didn't you?" Harry surmised with a suspicious grin. Mutgeb smiled.

"The Terra Auxilium Ducere, the device Dumbledore was in charge of to help keep order in the world, had began to fail," she stated. "We needed a hero to bring order back into the world, just as you needed what you thought was the power of the Green Flame Torch to save the world. You learned the power was inside you all along, but because you spent the summer trekking around the world, you learned more then you intended."

"You helped an old woman begin her journey back to the living, while discovering the meaning of loyalty and friendship," Frynani added. "

Then by helping to uncover Slytherin's past, you aided a jungle of fearful animals by showing compassion," Sharane continued.

"And finally, by uniting this island the Muggles called Atlantis, you discovered the true meaning of love," Mutgeb started again. "You learned that your cousin wasn't as bad as you thought and he discovered the same about you. He learned the truth of your parents, and learned through your help that being different wasn't so bad. By joining the two halves of the island back together, you saved Morahana. The act returned the dolphins' home world to them as well as serving the purpose of uniting the final magic to keep the wizarding world safe. This island is the source of pure magic, Harry, past, present and future. Without your help, there was the danger Voldemort would find it and use the magic that dwells within for his own evil plans. You gave the Terra Auxilium Ducere the chance to regenerate itself to its fullest power."

"I can't believe you sent me on all those trips, and made me figure out all those riddles, just to give that machine a chance to recharge," Harry said bitterly. "I HATE RIDDLES!" Mutgeb, Sharane and Frynani laughed at the expression on the young man's face. "Why couldn't you have just told me what you needed? I would have gone anyway, but maybe I could have taken Ginny with me."

"You needed the time to discover yourself, as well," Sharane said. "You needed to learn to rely on yourself."

"The battle you just fought, could not have been done by anyone but you," Frynani added. "The powers of the five were needed to strengthen your own ability to fight Voldemort, but you had to do it alone."

"Harry, you have always had your friends there to help you," Mutgeb continued. "They have always stood by you and would willingly sacrifice their own lives to help you. Look at what happened at the Ministry of Magic a few years ago. But you were the only one who could have defeated your enemy. You needed to learn to trust yourself and your powers. Your friends could not have helped you with what you alone had to do."

"But at what cost?" Harry said with a lump forming in his throat. "I've lost my Ginny. Without her, I have nothing left."

"Are you sure about that?" Mutgeb asked, glancing down at the child now sleeping in her arms.

"She's really mine?" he asked in a soft whisper, unconsciously touching the small hand tucked beneath her chin.

"Yes Harry, she is," Mutgeb answered softly.

"That's why Ginny loved her so much," he said with tears brimming his eyes. "She could feel the truth."

"She is a very powerful witch, Harry," Mutgeb said, slipping the child out of her arms and into the reluctant embrace of her young father's.

"Was," he whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks and onto the small head of the baby he held close to his heart. As he began to bond with his new daughter, his heart began to scream for the love he had lost. If only he could tell Ginny. If only he could offer her the child she so desperately wanted.

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"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked in a soft, childlike voice, as they gathered in the Great Hall. Nearly a week had passed, and still there was no word of their hero. It should have been a time of great celebration, but there was little happiness around the wizarding world. The leaders of the community gathered at Hogwart's, while the Daily Prophet continued to ask the question everyone wanted to know; "Where is Harry Potter?"

Sitting at the head table that had been magically enlarged greatly, were the Minister of Magic and his wife along with their two eldest sons, the American President of Wizardry and his wife along with their two sons and two daughters, a wide assortment of Aurors who were not busy escorting Death Eaters to Azkaban, the school's many professors, several visiting dignitaries who had come to lend a hand in the battle, and one small child who sat in her father's seat, wiping away her tears on the sleeve of her black dress. Many lives had been lost during the battle for freedom, including the little house elf Winky who had tried to fight, but in fear turned to run and found herself being thrown across the forest by a large giant. Several goblins on both sides had died, giants, ogres, centaurs, and one single wizard. Snape was dead; his body remained in the Hospital Wing while preparations were made for his burial. So much loss, so much gained, and still there was no world of the one who had brought about their freedom.

School was nearly over, the term had less than a week to go before the students would leave for real. This was always a time of joy, anxiety and plans. Harry and Ron would set about planning how they would spend the summer, while Ginny and Hermione would listen, knowing they could somehow fit time in for a little romance. Exams would be nearly finished and the anticipation of learning their scores would echo throughout the summer months. Ron would argue with Hermione about spending time at her parents' place, while Harry would secretly whisper how he would find a way for them to be alone. Talk about the Quidditch season would sound as bags were being packed and assignments would be issued for the summer months ahead. But this year, none of that was being done. Nobody cared about the exams, teachers or students alike. No bags were anxiously being packed, no sounds of laughter or plans for the holiday months could be heard. Instead the Great Hall was silent, with only a few whispered voices to break the dead. Even the ghosts seemed affected by the losses.

"Maybe he's...not coming back," Seamus said, staring down at his full plate of potatoes, steaks and pudding. So much food, yet no appetite to eat it with. Even the Slytherins seemed taken back with thoughts of the Gryffindor who had saved them all from a life predicted by their past leaders.

"He's not dead," Ginny said, rather louder than she had anticipated. The room fell into silent, what little whispering that had been heard now ceased completely as the heads of the students turned in the direction of the red head. "I'd know if he were."

"Then where is he?" Dean asked boldly. The room remained silent, while the Headmaster cleared his throat, standing and excusing himself from the room. The sound of his slippers walking down the gleaming waxed floor echoed as he disappeared through the main door, leaving the sorrow and grief of his students behind.

The walk up the stairs was long and silent, with even the ghosts falling aside without greeting or comment. The long bearded wizard had a look of determination on his face, a mission in his step. The green slippers carried him onward, up one set of stairs to another, then down a long corridor to the dark room at the end of the hall. He drew a deep breath, sensing the presence of sorrow as he neared the end of the room. There was a shadow standing near the dark window, and Dumbledore felt it necessary to clear his throat twice to gain the attention of the visitor.

"Welcome back Harry," he said softly, watching the young man turn away from the window.

"I didn't want to come back," Harry said honestly.

"I know. Mutgeb can be very persuasive when she desires to be."

"You knew I was with her?"

"Where else would you have gone?" Dumbledore said with a soft chuckle.

"How long have you known her?" Harry asked with a frown. Dumbledore chuckled again. So much like the Harry Potter he had known for so long; curious regardless of the circumstances.

"I suppose you could say, I've known her my whole life."

"She's your sister, isn't she?" Harry guessed with a stern look into the old man's eyes. Dumbledore smiled again.

"You are a very insightful young man," the Headmaster answered.

"How old are you?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Older than even I care to remember."

" Guinevere was your wife, wasn't she? You were the A.D. listed on the Potter genealogy sheets, aren't you?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said after a few long moments. "She was my wife, and it was the last time I knew true love."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you take me in when my parents were killed?"

"I am not your blood relative, Harry, and it was best...even though it was perhaps not the wisest choice, for you to be with your mother's relatives. I could not risk Voldemort knowing your connection to me. It would have been too dangerous for you. It was best for you to grow up with your Muggle relatives, though it did not turn out quite as well as I had hoped."

"If I hadn't survived, you could have signed the Declaration of Cessation, couldn't you?"

"No Harry, I could not," Dumbledore said shaking his head. "I was not a direct descendant of the Potter line. All I could have done was act on your behalf."

"You still can," Harry said sadly. "I'm not staying Professor. I only came back to say...good-bye. I can't stay without her."

"Without whom, Harry?"

"Ginny," he said with a frown. "I saw Bellatrix kill her. I felt her death."

"I see," the headmaster said, pacing his way closer to where the young man stood. "You're going to give up living, because you lost the love of your life? I tried that once, but it didn't work for me, and it won't work for you. There are too many people who need you, including a small child who needs her father."

"I know about her," Harry said, turning back to the window. "Ginny would have loved raising her."

"I'm sorry Harry, but I'm afraid you've lost me. Perhaps I'm getting old after all. Please explain yourself."

"The baby Voldemort created, was done with my blood," Harry said impatiently, feeling stupid for answering questions he knew the old man already understood. "The child Ginny and I stole from him is mine. The witches told me how she was created."

"Fascinating," Dumbledore said with a raised eyebrow. "So you're a father? Congratulations."

"I'm not really in the mood, Professor."

"I understand, Harry. Much has been lost the past few days. I suppose there are two little girls in need of their fathers, then."

"I can't be there for her," Harry insisted. "I would never know how to be a father to her. Ginny would have loved to raise her though."

"Indeed. As I said, Harry, much has been lost due to Voldemort. But perhaps before you leave, you should bid your farewells to the one taken from our midst. The body is still here."

"She's here?" Harry said, swallowing hard.

"In there," Dumbledore answered, pointing to a private section of the hospital wing, hidden behind a large screen. Without words, Harry found his feet moving toward the dark corner, followed close behind by the school's Headmaster. He stopped at the end of the bed, staring down at the dark image hidden beneath the layer of sheet. What had he done? He thought. It was his fault she was here, his fault she would never be with him again. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Harry stepped up to the side of the bed and laid his hand on the shoulder of the body. The coolness of death made the sheets feel like ice beneath his touch.

"I can't go on without her," Harry said between sad sobs.

"The school feels your loss, Harry," Dumbledore said, stepping around the other side of the bed and drawing the sheet down across the lifeless face. Harry blinked several times, frowning as he focused his eyes on the cold, dead image of Severus Snape. Looking back up to Dumbledore, seeing the sad expression on his aged face.

"I don't understand Professor," Harry said. "Where's Ginny? I saw Bellatrix attack her, I saw her die. I need to see her body."

"You owe thanks to a special little elf, who has always looked after you." Harry thought for a moment, and then realized what the old wizard meant.

"Misty," he whispered, his eyes widening as he stared at the man across form him. "Ginny?"

"She's in the Great Hall, along with many others who anxiously await their hero," Dumbledore looked back down to Snape and frowned. "All except a small girl, who only wants her daddy back. A child should never have to loose both parents at such a tender age." Harry frowned, glancing back to the lifeless body lying before him.

"A child should have their parent to love them, even if it is someone like Snape." Reaching inside his shirt, he pulled out the crystal he had held close to his heart for so long. He now understood what Mutgeb meant; he knew the moment was right and he knew his precious gift was not meant for his own vanity. Holding the crystal tightly in his grip, he closed his eyes, rubbing the crystal until it began to grow in a soft green hue. Laying the crystal on the forehead of Snape's lifeless body, he stepped back. Watching as the warm glow began wrapping around the long dark body, bringing back to life the one person he had spent years detesting.

The room began to take on warmth it didn't have a few moments before as Harry and Dumbledore watched the chest of the dead man begin to breathe. His eyes blinked twice before they opened, staring at the ceiling. Dumbledore smiled down at the greasy image of his Potions Professor.

"Welcome back, Severus," he said softly.

"What...how?" croaked the dry voice of the man.

"I think perhaps you and Harry have some things to talk about," the old man said, stepping back around the end of the bed. He paused momentarily to pat the young man on the shoulder. "I think there will be much to celebrate tonight, after all."

Harry watched the Headmaster leave the room, thinking that his step seemed a bit lighter than when he had entered a little while ago. He turned back to see Snape struggle to sit up and instinctively reached forward to help. The room was silent as the two stared at each other.

"Why?" Snape asked after a few moments.

"I suppose you could say, I'm more like my father than you ever thought. There's little a man won't do for the right person." Snape glanced down at his feet then back up to Harry.

"I suppose you expect me to thank you, Potter?" he whispered.

"No. But there's a little girl who deserves your praise. She needs you more than I needed to change the past. I think I finally understand how much I had growing up, and how lucky I was to have parents that sacrificed their lives for me. Don't make her regret wishing life was different."

Snape didn't answer, he simply raised an arrogant eyebrow and stood from the bed he had occupied in death for the past week. He tried to steady himself of legs that struggled to regain circulation, before slowly walking past Harry. He paused inside the doorway and looked back across his shoulder to the young wizard standing there watching.

"Your father was...perhaps, not as bad as I had once thought." Harry smiled, knowing how hard it was for the greasy git to admit anything good about James Potter. "Your parents would have been proud of you Potter," he said.

"I know they are." Harry said with a smile. "Do me a favor, will you? Try and take it easy on Gryffindor. After all, some of us have a lot going for us." Snape raised his brow and turned around, leaving Harry to smile as he listened to his shuffled step down the corridor.

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The Great Hall was filled with a stunned silence as the door opened up and their dead Potions Professor stepped through. He walked deliberately up the isle next to the Gryffindor table, stopping short of the head of the room as a little voice screamed in delight and a tiny body ran to him, nearly knocking him off his feet as she jumped into his arms. The students watched the snide, stern image of the man they all feared and hated, hug tightly to the small child, kissing her cheek and forehead several times.

"How is this possible?" Ron asked in a hushed tone.

"Dumbledore must have found a spell," Hermione said with a frown, her tone barely above a whisper. "That must have been why he left in such a hurry."

"I don't mean the greasy git coming back to life," Ron snapped softly. "I meant his showing affection. I didn't think he understood what emotion was."

"It's his daughter, Ron," Ginny scolded in turn. "Children have a way of making even the coldest of hearts warm."

"I was so sad, daddy," Amanda said through the hushed whispers of the room. "I wished and wished you'd come back."

"In this school, my little love, wishes do come true," Snape told his daughter, lifting her in his arms and carrying her to the head table.

Ginny watched the two for several seconds, with a frown. If only wishes did come true, she would have Harry sitting beside her now. Just as the thought formed in her mind, the doors to Great Hall opened again, Nearly Headless Nick entered through the open threshold with a large smile on his pale face, as he readjusted his head on his shoulders. He was followed close behind by a very jubilant Peeves, who was spraying confetti over the students as he sang out;

"Pottie-Pottie true and sweet, listen to the sound of his feet." Ginny glanced up to the ceiling, ducking too late as a spray of confetti was shot across her face and head. The room seemed to take on a sudden life of excitement as she blinked several times brushing the paper and dust from her shoulders and off her hair, growling angrily at Peeves the whole time.

"Peeves, you bloody idiot," she snapped, spitting the debris from her mouth that fell in when she gasped at the assault.

"Now is that any way for a young lady to speak?" a voice said, as a hand reached out, lifting her to her feet. She didn't have to see to know who was wrapping his arms around her, and when their lips met, she knew he was back. Her arms circled his neck and for several moments, they couldn't care less where they were or who was watching.

"Potter's back!" a Hufflepuff said with a surprised tone.

"Just in time for supper, I see," Ron said, hurrying around the table and patting the young man on the back.

"Hey, Harry, get in any good shots for us?" Fred asked and he and George gathered near.

"Leave the boy alone," Percy insisted pushing through the crowd. "He needs room to breathe."

"Too bad you don't," George said bitterly.

"Yeah, his brain's been absent of oxygen for years," Fred added.

"Harry, I thought..." Ginny whispered, as hands began patting him on the back.

"I never want to be further away from you, then I am right now," he whispered back against her ear as he held her tightly to his chest. "I thought I'd lost you. I saw you get struck and fall. I thought..."

"I would never leave you, you should now that," she whispered back reaching up to kiss him again, but being pulled away as eager students wanted his attention.

"I see you're back in time to collect your reward," Malfoy said, stepping up behind him and smiling his trademark smirk.

"This is all the reward I want," he said, smiling at the tear-filled eyes of his beloved Ginny.

"What about the bounty on You-Know...I mean Voldemort's head?" Malfoy asked again, a smug look tinting his face with light.

"What bounty?" Harry asked in surprise.

"There was a five million dollar bounty on the head of Lord Voldemort," Malfoy explained. "Providing he was brought in alive. Fifteen million dollars if he was killed. I trust by the destruction of the Dark Mark, you won?"

"I didn't do it alone," Harry said in a stunned silence.

"So, what are you going to do with all the money?" Seamus said, after patting Harry's back several times. "You earned it you know?"

"No I didn't," Harry said, still stunned at the news of a bounty.

"Then who did?" Ron asked in a surprised tone. Harry looked up at him and smiled.

"I think the school did," Harry answered with pride, glancing around at the many faces and bodies crowding in around him.

"Hey Harry," a Ravenclaw boy called out. "How'd you do it Harry?" he asked as students from all four houses began to gather around him, eager to hear the story of how he defeated the evil Lord Voldemort.

"We saw the Death Mark get eaten," a young Hufflepuff girl exclaimed.

"You saw what?" Harry asked.

"The guardian of Gryffindor appeared in the sky above Hogwart's," Hermione began with a wide grin. "It attacked the Death Mark and killed the serpent, then laid down over the school to protect it."

"You should have seen the Death Eaters," Ron said jubilantly. "They didn't know what to do. They just stood there staring like a pack of idiots." Harry laughed at the images filtering through his mind.

"Where've you been for the past week?" Dean Thomas asked. It seemed all the voices began to blend in together and sounded like a megaphone of curious questions.

"Students, please," Dumbledore said with a raise of his voice as he stood in front of the room. "Return to your seats. I'm sure Mr. Potter is hungry after his ordeal, and I'm sure he'll tell us all about his adventures in due time. I believe the Minister of Magic has an announcement," he continued as the room regained its composure. Dumbledore turned to Mr. Weasley who stood and cleared his throat.

"I'm sure we're all very happy Harry has returned to us," he said, winking at his only daughter. "Perhaps some of us more than others," the students began to chuckle at the bright red color that crept up Ginny's neck and face. "The Ministry of Magic would like to extend its thanks to Harry Potter as well as reward him the bounty placed on Lord Voldemort's head many years ago. We would also like to offer him the position he seems best fit for. There is an opening at the Ministry for a new Auror, if you're interested Harry."

Harry smiled, feeling happier than he thought he ever would again. He listened to the excited comments of his fellow students, then glanced to Malfoy, Ron and Hermione who remained by his side, his arms wrapping tightly around Ginny.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley, but I must decline," Harry said, listening to the gasps of disbelief among the room. "There were five of us fighting Voldemort that night, sir. I was never alone and it would be prudent to accept the position myself."

"I see. Perhaps then, the five would care to discuss their futures with the Ministry?"

"Are you mental?" Ron exclaimed, causing the students to gasp at his reaction to the Minister, even though it was his father. Ron ignored the shocked expression on Mr. Weasley's face and never once looked to his mother, who offered a scornful expression his way. "It's bad enough having to go to school with Draco Malfoy, I will not work with him as well!"

"The feeling is mutual, Weasel," Malfoy said with a smirk. "But then again, who's going to be around to save your sorry arse?"

"I can save myself thank you very much, and stop calling me Weasel, Ferret-Face!" Ron shouted, as the room exploded in an array of laughter.

"If I may continue," Mr. Weasley said with a bright smile. "Now that Harry has returned to us, there are some issues that need to be addressed. Many spells were used over the course of what I'm sure will be known as 'The Great Battle', and many of them were forbidden." Mr. Weasley glanced briefly to Malfoy, who had returned to his own table and lowered his eyes, knowing the consequences of his actions. "In any ordinary circumstances, the Ministry would have no choice but to punish and arrest those guilty of breaking the law. However," he continued glancing back at those gathered around the head table. "Given the fact that these were not normal conditions, and the spells were used in self defense, the members of the Ministry, along with the leaders of our neighboring wizarding communities have unanimously agreed to overlook the misuse of forbidden spells on this single occasion and grant immunity to those otherwise considered guilty." The students broke into a round of applause, knowing more than just a few had resorted to using the notorious spells.

"I believe the students are saying thank you, Minister," Dumbledore said with a warm smile. "And as such, I believe thanks should be issued to all who remained behind and fought the battle to save our world. As Mr. Potter has pointed out, there were more involved than a single person. And as such, the school has decided to award each of this year's attendees with a very special accommodation and a plaque will be issued for all who enter the castle, so future generations will never forget what has happened here." Another applause echoed off the walls, and when the noise settled down, Dumbledore raised his hand, changing the school flags that had decorated the hall for the past several years in Gryffindor colors, back to the colors of the four houses. Among them was a new flag, hanging above the main entrance. This flag was unique, as its color was a bright purple, and in its center was a large five point star, enclosing a golden phoenix. The words that decorated the boarders simply read, "Five joined once divided to form the star of the five united."