Harry Potter and the Guild of the Night

Chapter 36 - Epilogue

The Leaving Feast had gone off without a hitch. The awards had been presented to all of the students involved in the defence of Hogwarts and Harry had been prevailed upon to speak. His speech had been short and to the point; he hadn't done it alone, that his Battle Guard, the students, the teachers and all the others who had been there deserved as much credit as he did and that now it was time for a bloody good party. And that is what it had been. Gryffindor had once again won the House Cup by a narrow margin from Ravenclaw with Slytherin and Hufflepuff tying for third. Eventually all of the students had trickled off to their various dormitories for their last night.

The next day was the usual chaos and Harry was glad that for once he did not have to take part. He, Remus and Sirius were staying at Hogwarts for another week while the house-elves fixed up Grimmauld Place; they would then spend the rest of the first half of the holidays there before going to the Burrow for the remainder of the holidays. He helped his fellow sixth year Gryffindors pack and then walked down with them to the Entrance Hall. As soon as he got there, Ginny threw herself at him and he kissed her thoroughly.

"You know, I still think there's something's wrong with that," Ron said good-naturedly as he walked up to them with Hermione, Neville and Luna.

Harry grinned at him as Ginny whacked her brother on the arm.

"You're probably right," he replied with a grin, "but there's nothing you can do about it."

Ron laughed and pulled Harry away from his sister to give him a hug. "See ya soon, mate," he said.

Hermione took her boyfriend's place. "Look after yourself, Harry," she said, "and don't let Sirius get you into trouble."

Harry grinned as he returned her hug and then turned to face Neville.

"No thorns?" he asked with grin.

Neville grinned back. "No thorns. See you next year, Harry. I'll write."

Then Luna was pulling him into a hug. "Have a good summer, Harry," she said quietly and then gave her normal wafty smile. She then shooed everyone away from Harry, leaving he and Ginny alone.

Harry smiled at his girlfriend and pulled her into his arms again before kissing her. They separated in a few minutes when the wolf-whistling and cat-calling from the other students got too much for them and they had to laugh.

"I'll miss you, Ginny," he said quietly and buried his face in her hair.

"Me, too," she replied then she pulled back and shook her finger at him sternly. "You'd better write as often as you can, Harry Potter."

Just then Ron stuck his head back through the doors. "Come on, Ginny!" he yelled. "The carriages are about to leave!"

Harry kissed Ginny again and then gave her push towards the doors. She ran out and jumped into a carriage with her brother, waving out of the window. Harry stood on the top step and waved until the carriages disappeared. He sighed and walked back into the castle where he found Master Nhean levitating his trunks in front of him.

"Master," Harry said in surprise. "I didn't know you were leaving today."

Nhean smiled gently at his student. "I didn't intend to, Harry, but the Council have asked me to return early. There is still some debate going on about how we should respond to the Ministry's request for extra training for their Aurors and they wish to have my input. I will be back next year however. Your training is by no means complete."

Harry grinned with relief. "Oh good," he said. "I'll make sure I keep practicing over the holidays then."

"See that you do," Nhean said sternly, though there was an amused twinkle in his eye. "And do try and keep yourself and your godfather out of trouble."

Harry laughed. "Come on, Master. Everyone knows that's Remus' job."

Master Nhean laughed as well and let his trunks settle on the ground. He walked over to Harry and pulled him into a tight hug. "I have been very proud to teach you this year, Harry," he said fervently. "And I look forward to next year, to see the steps you and your friends will take."

Tears welled in Harry's eyes and his bowed to his Master. "Thank you, Master," he said a little thickly. "It has been an honour to learn from you."

Nhean smiled and levitated his trunks once more. Then he too left the castle.

Harry stood in the large Entrance Hall and listened to the sounds of silence echo through the castle. He was still standing there smiling, his eyes closed, when Professor Snape walked in, heading towards the dungeons.

The Potions Master watched the young Gryffindor for a moment before a small smile flitted across his face. He began striding towards Harry.

"Potter! What are you doing?" he snarled in his most forbidding tones and was amused when the young man's eyes snapped open and he jumped. Snape chuckled lightly and was rewarded by Harry's jaw dropping slightly

"Well, Potter?" he asked.

Harry blinked and then grinned. "Just enjoying the silence, sir," he said.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I thought you enjoyed making a racket with your fellow idiot Gryffindors?" he said acidly.

"Well yes, I do, sir," Harry said blithely, "but I also like the quiet as well."

Snape harrumphed and started heading towards his dungeons. Just as he was disappearing down the stairs, Harry heard his voice float back.

"Have a good summer, Mr Potter. Do remember to study."

Harry chuckled and turned towards the interior of the castle. There was no doubt about it; he was definitely going to have a good summer.

The End

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