Different Paths

Chapter 26: The Aftermath

4 weeks later...

On a warm summer day, in a secluded section of London, in the heart of Diagon Alley, on the second floor of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, a young wizard was tying his robe secure around himself and placing his wand in his belt. He quietly left the seclusion of his room and started to make his way down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, a young witch looked up and saw the young wizard descend down the stairs. "Harry!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure you can get out of bed? Doesn't it still hurt?"

Harry Potter grinned at the young witch. "Don't worry Hermione," he said. "I feel absolutely smashing now. Though maybe just a tad sore." Hermione smiled and threw her arms around Harry. Harry hugged her back just as enthusiastically before pulling away and saying, "Besides, how do you expect me to stay in bed with all this racket going on downstairs?"

"I see your point," said Hermione with a roll of her eyes.

The 'racket' Harry was referring to, was the party that had been going continuously on the main floor of the joke shop. The banner overhead proclaimed, "Celebration of the fall of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, Day 28!!!" though the part that read '28' was clearly written over with each successive date. The store had been closed during that month, as had most stores in Diagon Alley since the fall of Voldemort in celebration and the Order of the Phoenix was camping there while the Leaky Cauldron was being repaired. Around a karaoke machine toward the back of the store, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, Fred Weasley, and several male members of the Order of the Phoenix were shouting out a drunken, highly out of tune version of "Cause he's a jolly good fellow", while poor Arabella Figg was continuously apologizing to George Weasley who seemed to be itching to return to the celebration himself. Sirius Black was grumbling and cursing about the lack of use in his heavily bandaged right hand as he ate with his left hand. Ron Weasley, was wandering around, quite drunk and obviously not being able to hold his liquor and Ginny Weasley was dashing around saying, "Draco, where are you?"

Hermione sighed, and was about to go scold Ron for drinking when Harry suddenly pulled her into a corner behind the stairs and started kissing her. Hermione kissed him back blissfully as Harry placed a hand on her stomach. "How's junior doing?" he asked.

Hermione smiled. While Harry had hovered near life and death several weeks ago, Hermione had never left his side. One night, she whispered to him about the baby, and the faint smile on Harry's otherwise motionless face was telling enough for Hermione about the sheer euphoria he had felt at the prospect of becoming a father. "So far, the little one's just been making me a little nauseated each morning," she said. "But just wait, soon it will be mood swings, food cravings, hormones, and all the other woes. You've got your work cut out for you Mr. Potter."

"And it will all be worth it," said Harry as he started kissing her neck. "Shall we tell the others?"

"I still want to keep the baby a secret just a little longer," said Hermione. "Cho's the only one who knows and for now, I'd like to leave it at that." Only days after the final battle, Cho Chang arrived complete with her newly earned medical degree, to nurse Harry back to health. She was also now Hermione's official doctor throughout the duration of her pregnancy.

Harry nodded and suggested that they should return to the party. From the main table where most of the food was, Cho Chang looked up and smiled as she saw Harry and Hermione come and join them. "I see you are looking quite better, Harry," she said.

"And its all thanks to you and my lovely Hermione here," said Harry.

Cho smiled. "I was simply doing my job. It was all a simple day's work."

Harry was about to take some food when Ginny screamed, "Where is Draco?!" completely startling everybody.

Remus sighed and said, "He's at St. Paul's Cathedral."

"Again?" exclaimed Ginny.

"You have to understand, that Draco's been having a very difficult time these days," said Remus. "He's been doing a lot of soul searching and he often wants to be left alone. So lets just let him have his wishes for now and continue getting drunk!" The Order members cheered, as they seemed to like the idea.

* * *

Meanwhile just outside, a lone figure with a Mohawk, leather clothing, Union Jack tattoos, and wands bursting out of every pocket was approaching the store. "Well, these mates are getting a little laxed in their guards," he said in a thick Australian accent. "Maybe I'll give these mates a quick surprise." He walked through the doors of the store and found every wand of every Order member trained on him. "OK, maybe your guard wasn't so laxed after all," he said.

"Chucky Sullivan?" said Harry. "When did you get out of jail?"

"Actually, I'm not out of jail," said the Wand Hunter. "Give me a meal and I'll tell you the story. I'll even pay for the meal."

Minutes later, Chucky was chomping down on a burger as he explained his situation while the Order members stared at him warily. "A Ministry Agent? You?" exclaimed Ginny.

"Believe it, Red," said Chucky. "With Azkaban without guards following the revolt of the Dementors, the Ministry had to come up with alternative ways to ring in the Death Eaters. One of the Aurors thought I'd make a useful spy for him and had a bunch of charms placed in my head to keep me in check. Robbed me of my freewill but considering I'm serving a sentence, I don't have much freewill anyway."

"But it looks like they gave you the permission to come here though, broomhead," said Sirius. "Why? Is the ministry keeping tabs on us now?"

"For your information, dog breath, I'm here to tell you what happened to the Elite Ten," said Chucky. "Most of the regular run of the mill Death Eaters have been locked away but the Elite Ten have been placed in the service of the Ministry because of their special skills. Fenis, Flame, Icicle, Wormtail, and of course myself are all servicing the Ministry now." Sirius and Remus looked furious, both of them obviously dissatisfied with Wormtail's fate, but they remained quiet as Chucky continued talking, "Cassandra Frost is also due to be in Ministry service, eventually."

"Eventually? Why eventually?" asked Ginny.

"She took the Dark Lord's death rather hard," said Chucky. "I spoke to her just before I came here..."

"You're still lying around?" asked Chucky. "You, know the Ministry's offer isn't going to last. Why aren't you taking it?"

"Why even live?" asked Cassandra. "Our Lord is dead. The cause is over. I feel like there isn't really anything else left to live for."

"Perhaps," said Chucky. "But that would be going against what the Dark Lord's words." At Cassandra's confused look, Chucky continued, "The Dark Lord once said that in the unlikely event that he is defeated, he wished for his Death Eaters to provide the Ministry with an example. If the time for the dark side never comes, then perhaps a continued dark influence within the Ministry could at least provide a sanctuary to those too steeped in the Dark Arts."

Cassandra looked surprised. "You're not kidding are you? Are you really not making that up just to cheer me?"

"Nope, the Dark Lord's very words," said Chucky.

Cassandra made a small smile. "Really. I suppose that's a job that the dead Yasmin or the exiled Seth can't do. I guess it'll be something to consider."

"You know, not that I agree with that philosophy, but perhaps Voldemort was a bigger man than I thought," said Harry.

"What are you talking about?" said Chucky. "Of course I made those words up just to cheer Cassandra up." There was a general rolling of eyes amongst the Order members.

"Enough of all those others, what happened to Angelus?" snapped Sirius. "He certainly isn't one to take any Ministry bribes of that sort."

"You're right, he didn't," said Chucky. "Due to his relation to the Catholic Church, Angelus avoided execution, but he's still serving multiple life sentences in Azkaban. He won't be eligible for parole for 25 years."

"25 years, that's a long time," said Sirius.

"What about Voldemort's second in command? The one called Horace the Informer?" asked Harry.

"Oh him? He's dead."

"Dead?" said Harry, "how did that happen?"

"Horace's powers of research and his intelligence would've been invaluable to the Ministry," said Chucky. "Originally, Horace wanted to live so as to preserve the Dark Lord's legacy. However, for the Ministry, that was a great taboo. They wish to erase all possible traces of the Dark Lord and whatever influence he had on the Wizarding World in general. They can't erase the influence of the dark side but they can at least try to erase all influences of the Dark Lord. This was unacceptable to Horace, and giving into despair, he used a knife he smuggled into his cell and slit his own throat."

There was a general feeling of melancholy in the room following this revelation. "Didn't that other one, the one called Yasmin also die?" asked Hermione

"That she did," said Chucky. "Yasmin Corellan was best friends and eventually lovers with Tom Riddle when they were at Hogwarts. After Tom Riddle returned as the Dark Lord, she became one of his mere Death Eaters however. It was only after the Dark Lord's revival 3 years ago that she regained the old closeness she once shared with the Dark Lord."

"That's so tragic," said Hermione. "But I guess even Voldemort had a semblance of a heart somewhere in that cold body of his."

"That's probably why I was finally able to beat him," said Harry. "Why Dumbledore looked triumphant when he found out that Voldemort used my blood for his revival. People said that Voldemort was barely human. I bet my blood somehow caused Voldemort to once again regain some of his humanity. That's why he was once again close to Yasmin, why he was willing to admit defeat after the HMS Hell Bearer was destroyed, and why he was finally able to be killed."

Chucky bit into his burger once more and said, "As you mates would probably know, only one Death Eater escaped Ministry custody. I seriously doubt Seth Soran will ever be caught, but then again the Ministry doesn't seem to care much about him. Nobody thinks he'll ever be a danger again."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small hamlet in south Norway, Seth Soran was eating some ice cream he had just purchased from a local snack stand. "Thank you very much," he said to the lady whom had just sold him the ice cream. "Now, if it isn't much, could you also tell me if there's some nice open country where I can spend my time philosophizing?"

"Now why would a young man like yourself need some philosophizing?"

"Well lets just say my life has led to bit of a crossroad," said Seth. "I'm at the point where I need to make a choice for myself of one of two philosophies. I can't make this choice lightly as it's a choice that led two men with very similar beginnings to travel down two different paths."

"Well is that so?" said the old woman. "Well I would suggest you head north then. There are some nice wilderness regions there where men can philosophize to their heart's contents."

"North," said Seth. "Yes, up north would really be a great place to spend the coming summer."

* * *

Back at Weasley Wizard Wheezes, Chucky was just about to leave. "Well, thanks for the meal," he said as he stepped out of the store.

"Wait," said Harry. "Tell me, what was Horace's real name?"

"Horace Salacion. Why?" said Chucky.

"Horace Salacion. Every man has his role to play and every man has a place of honor. That man recognized that. Perhaps it is true, that even one such as Voldemort deserves to be honored in some way," said Harry.

"Whatever you say Potter," said Chucky. With that, he disappeared down the road.

"You know Harry, I was thinking," said Ron. "I know we did a good deed and all defeating You-Know-Who but did we really do a good job with the Ministry back in power? You heard what that guy said; they're using former Death Eaters to do their dirty work now? What kind of guys are we if we just defeated one evil to save another?"

"Only time can tell," said Harry. "No one knows for certain what philosophy or method of governing is the right method or philosophy. Only the passing of time can provide us with hints to that question. All I knew for certain," he looked up toward the sky, "was that Voldemort's method was the wrong one. Positively."

* * *

Horace Salacion was walking through some place he didn't recognize. It was a dark and frightening place, filled with fire and brimstone. The very roads he was walking along alone were littered with human skeletons. "Where am I?" he asked no one in particular.

"Why in Hell of course," said a familiar voice. Horace spun around to see that the one spoken was none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Right next to him was Yasmin Corellan.

"See, I told you Horace would soon join us," said Yasmin.

"And correct you were my dear," said Voldemort. "Come Horace, to my side once more. And join me so that we may once again do great things."

A grin of delight spread across Horace's face. "Yes, my Lord!" he exclaimed as he went to join Voldemort.

"You know while we're at it," said Yasmin, "why don't we go find Grindelwald and get him to join us for real this time? Then maybe we could go try to usurp control of Hell from the Devil."

"My thoughts exactly," said Voldemort with a shrill laugh. His laughter echoed through the lands of darkness that surrounded them.

* * *

"You're leaving tomorrow?" exclaimed Ginny. It was three days after Chucky's visit and the Order had moved back into the Leaky Cauldron.

"We've overextended our visit here," said Hermione. "The free time granted to 7^th years ends in about a week and we still have the NEWTs to complete."

"Oh just forget about those bloody exams and elope with Harry so you can stay here!" exclaimed Ginny. Hermione tried to keep her annoyance in check.

"Ginny, as tempting as that sounds, you seem to be forgetting how much of a taboo that would be to me." What Hermione wasn't telling Ginny however was that she also wanted to find a place immediately after the final exams where she could spend her pregnancy in peace with just Harry.

"Now, now Ginny," said Remus. "Hermione and the others must have their reasons for wanting to leave and it is not our place to pry into their affairs. So instead, lets spend this day on my specially planned GRAND TOUR OF LONDON!"

"Well if they're adamant about leaving, then YES!" exclaimed a delighted Ginny "Oh, we can go to Buckingham Palace, or maybe stop over at Bakers Street, and there's the London Museum, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Theater, London Zoo..." She and Remus immediately drew out a map of London and started discussing tour plans when Ron walked by. "Oh Ron, want to go on a tour of London?"

"Can't. Going out. Oh, and Harry and Sirius are already out by the way." Saying that, Ron just ambled out of the inn.

Ginny and Remus looked disappointed. Ginny said, "Oh, well in that case maybe we could at least take Hermione..." She was interrupted when Cho Chang entered the room.

"Hermione, would you please come take a walk with me?" asked Cho.

"Oh? OK," said Hermione. She followed Cho out of the inn leaving behind a very, very disappointed Ginny and Remus.

* * *

"Hmm, not much left here," said Ron. He was searching through the rubble of what was left of Voldemort's lair near the Tower of London. "Guess it might not have been a good..." it was then that Ron suddenly felt a presence behind him. 'A renegade Death Eater?' he thought. He pulled out his wand and turned around to find that it wasn't a Death Eater.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sirius Black.

"I could ask you the same thing," said Ron as he put his wand away. "If you must know, I wanted to see for myself where the final battle took place."

"Hmm, well you'll have to follow me in that case. It's a virtual labyrinth in there," said Sirius.

* * *

Sitting in a rather crowded part of Trafalgar Square, Hermione Granger sat on a bench next to Cho Chang while chewing a sherbet lemon. An awkward moment of silence past as Hermione pondered over what Cho wanted to say. Finally, Hermione herself broke the silence, "Thank you for nursing Harry back to health; we were so worried about him. And also, thank you for keeping the baby a secret for now."

"I was simply doing my job," said Cho. "Confidentiality between a doctor and her patients is often vital."

"Yes, but given the circumstances..."

"I would do anything to make Harry happy. I'm sure you're aware of that. If keeping your child a secret for the time being makes you two happy than I will be more than pleased to keep the child a secret."

"Thank you," said Hermione. She started nibbling on her sherbet lemon when Cho stood up and walked a few paces away.

"Tell me Hermione, how did you feel when Harry returned from the battle? When you saw the condition he was in?"

Hermione was taken a bit aback by the question, but the memory was still fresh in her mind. She sheer terror and dread she had felt when she saw Harry barely alive, hanging off of Sirius's shoulder. How she screamed out his name as the sobs wretched through her body. How she never left his side as he spent days hovering between the brink of life and death. "I felt devastated. Like my own life would end if Harry's did."

"And if another evil should arise and Harry once again leaves to fight another danger, would you still stand by him no matter what? Even faced with the idea that this time, perhaps this time he will not come back?"

"Yes," said Hermione without any hesitation.

Cho chuckled bitterly. "I envy you Hermione Granger. I could never have the strength or the courage to do that. To tell you the truth, Harry shouldn't have survived with the extent of injuries he had. I have no illusions in my belief that it was only because he wanted to be with you that he pulled through."

"Cho..."

"I can heal and patch up wounds. But the only person who can truly pull Harry Potter back from the brink of death is the only person he said 'good bye' to at Hogwarts. You, Hermione Granger, are his 'home'. So remember Hermione," Cho turned around to face Hermione, "next time, if you once again fall into the depths of depression like that, I'm not going to forgive you. Not for my sake but for Harry Potter's sake. Do I make myself clear?"

Tears were now streaming down Hermione's face as she whispered, "Yes." 'Thank you Cho... and I'm sorry.'

* * *

"I guess a lot of things do tend to change throughout the city," said Harry Potter as he walked through a cemetery near Hyde Park, carrying a bouquet of lilies. He stopped in front of a pair of tombstones and said, "But there are some things that will never change."

The pop of a wizard apparating sounded behind Harry and Albus Dumbledore stepped up behind him. "Is this the first time you have actually visited here?" he asked.

Harry traced a finger over his scar and said, "Yes. This is my first time here." He placed the lilies in front of the tombstones, each of which had a name written on them: "James Potter" and "Lily Potter".

* * *

Sirius and Ron had delved deep into what was left of Voldemort's lair and were now standing over the abyss that had previously housed the arena where the final battle had taken place. 'Why did Sirius want to come here?' thought Ron. 'To confirm Snape's fate?'

"You know I for one can't believe Snape's really gone," said Sirius. "That does sound strange coming from me doesn't it? You'd expect that I'd be happy to see him finished off. But all I feel now is empty." He turned to Ron and asked, "Why did you want to come here though?"

Ron stood still thinking for a moment. "You know, I really felt great when I beat those Elite ten sisters. Declared myself as a 'Big Time Super Wizard in training' and I really felt like I was finally contributing to something. Yet, three days ago I questioned whether helping out the Ministry was the right thing to do. Like Harry said, we don't know whether it'll turn out to be the right or wrong thing, we just have to trust our own judgments. I guess I was still too naïve to realize that and also was a huge reminder that I'm still a small guy. I mean think about it, I've never even seen You-know... oh forget about it, Voldemort's face before... OW! Why did you do that for?" Sirius had just conked Ron on his head.

"You said yourself that you're in training," said Sirius. "If you want to become a better man, just continue training, even after Hogwarts. Grow stronger and wiser. That's what I intend to do. I may never have a final confrontation between Snape but at the least I can set a goal to become wiser and stronger than he was or he could ever be." Saying that, Sirius turned around and started walking away.

'Of course, Sirius wasn't here to confirm Snape's death, but place a final ultimatum between himself and Snape,' thought Ron. 'I may be rather small now, but I am surrounded by great men and some day, I will be able to join their ranks, if only I set myself up to achieve that.' Ron grinned and took off after a smiling Sirius and shouted "Hey, you planning on leaving me down here? Don't even think about it!"

* * *

"You know, I always avoided coming here for a long time," said Harry as he kneeled in front of his parents' graves. "I vowed that I would only visit here after and if I defeated Voldemort, years ago. I think a part of me feared that they blamed me for essentially leading them to their deaths."

"You know that is not true," said Dumbledore. "Lily and James had their own paths to walk down and they knew that those paths were their own and solely their own. Our stories of our lives are all a story about different paths. These paths may overlap, or they may veer in different directions, but the bottom line is that they are all different paths. That is the simple story of life: a story about different paths."

Harry smiled and said, "I guess you're right." He turned back to the tombstones and said, "I promise I'll come at least once a year from now on. And next time, I'll bring the family."

* * *

"Well, I suppose now is the time to say goodbye," said Harry. It was the day after he had visited his parents' graves and the others had taken care of their own businesses. He, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and Cho were all returning to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade on the Hogwarts Express.

"Ah, it will only be for a short while," said Remus. "I'm sure we'll be visiting Hogwarts soon again."

"I don't see why you have to go back already," said Ginny. "I don't have to go back till September."

"Well, we have our reasons," said Harry, sharing a wink with Hermione. "By the way Remus, is Draco at St. Paul's Cathedral today?"

"No, he's in his room today," said Remus.

"Right," said Harry. He made his way over to Draco's room and opened the door. Draco Malfoy was sitting on his bed facing away from Harry and looking out his window. Harry stood in the doorway and said, "You know Draco I doubt if we'll ever be true friends. But maybe someday perhaps we could wash away our differences over a mug of butterbeer?"

Draco didn't turn around but said, "I don't drink butterbeer. I'll join you for a cup of tea instead."

"I'll be looking forward to it," said Harry. He and the others left the room.

"He still doesn't smile huh?" said Ron.

"That will be up to Ginny now," said Harry.

"What?" asked Ginny.

Harry beamed at her. "Well Ginny, its your job to get Draco Malfoy to laugh now. And I'm talking about a real laugh, not those nasty smirks he used to make. Stick by him and I'm sure he'll recover far more quickly."

Ginny beamed at him. "I promise that I will make Draco laugh some day."

"Well, if that's all we have to do now," said Harry, "Lets head to Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross."

* * *

As Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and Cho were making their way to Kings Cross, Chucky Sullivan stared at them from out of a window of a nearby building. "Aren't you ever going to tell them that you're alive?" he asked his companion.

In the other side of the room, Severus Snape was brewing several potions. "Now why should I? Its not like they're going to miss me," he said. "Oh I probably will show up in front of them some day and I quite imagine that their reactions to see me alive would be priceless."

"I bet Potter wouldn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed to see you alive," said Chucky.

"Enough of that," said Snape. "Come on, we need to go to our next mission."

* * *

The train ride back to Hogsmeade Station was rather uneventful. Sirius and Cho each took their leave and returned to their various residences in Hogsmeade. Ron bounded back to Hogwarts Castle first thing, but Harry and Hermione lingered outside for a moment.

"You remember where this is, Harry?" said Hermione. "This is where we parted after Fudge was killed. It seems like such a long time ago doesn't it? It's only been two months."

"Yes it does," said Harry. The full moon glistened over the lake and there were no clouds in the starry sky. Around them, the fireflies were flying around, twinkling in the starlight.

It was a beautiful night: a wondrously beautiful night.

Harry smiled wistfully. "Back then, I didn't think I'd ever return here. I thought that that was going to be the last time I ever saw Hogwarts. The last time I ever saw you."

Hermione smiled. "There isn't going to be a last time for us Harry. From now on, we're going to spend the rest of our lives together." She extended her hand to him. "Welcome home Harry Potter."

Harry smiled and took Hermione's hand. He drew her into a long kiss underneath the stars and whispered, "I'm home."

It was a beautiful night: a wondrously beautiful night.

To be concluded...