Victories and Comedies

Neville Longbottom was in his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And for the first time in two years, the school was not the only truly safe place in the wizarding world. The rest of the world was safe again now. Now that the war was over.

Neville sat by a window in the South Tower, looking out at a first-year flying lesson, and smiling. Professor McGonagall had been mainly in charge of running the school for the last two years, while Dumbledore had co-ordinated the war against Voldemort from this secret space in the South Tower. Of all the wizards who gathered to wage this war, only Neville, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Professor Dumbledore had stayed behind. Neville had stayed to help Dumbledore, at the headmaster's special request. Hermione had stayed because she knew she would be more use researching things that could help the war than going off and fighting, and Ginny had stayed to help look after the injured or orphaned wizards. As it had happened, Ginny had not had much to do; the war had been very successful for Dumbledore's side.

It was a beautiful day, and while Neville watched the first-years' frightened attempts to fly with amusement and understanding, Dumbledore sat reading at his desk, and Hermione was chatting with Ginny by the fire.

The peace in the room was broken by the entrance of Matthias Parris, a fifth year Hufflepuff. "Professor Dumbledore, this just arrived in the Owlery!"

Dumbledore took the note from Parris, and read it over the top of his spectables. Hermione, Ginny and Neville looked up expectantly.

"It's from Sirius Black. He's returning to the castle tonight. The war is officially over!"

Neville sighed with relief, and Hermione and Ginny hugged each other in joy. Then Ginny broke away with a concerned look on her face. "Sir, does he mention Harry? Is Harry coming back with him?"

"Indeed he is, Miss Weasley. Sirius says the Aurors Council has been particularly impressed with his conduct during the war. He has done us all proud."

Ginny and Hermione smiled, and Dumbledore smiled with them. He was glad to see the two girls happy; they had been enormously worried for many months now, cooped up in the castle with little word from the outside world for weeks on end.

Hermione spoke up suddenly. "Is Mr Wonderful coming back too?" she asked sarcastically.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I don't know, Hermione. Sirius doesn't mention anyone named 'Wonderful'".

"She means Draco Malfoy," Ginny said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Dumbledore had passed the letter to Neville who consulted it, and looked up. "Yes, he's returning too, and he's perfectly fine."

"Oh yes, he saw fit to join us at the last minute, and swaggered around here boasting about how he'd win the whole war for us. How well did he do, because I promised him that I could do better?" Hermione asked petulantly.

"Patience, Hermione. You are too hard on him. But I'm sure he can give as good as he takes." Dumbledore smiled.

The fifth-year Hufflepuff Parris piped up. "He has done extremely well in this war! He is a powerful wizard!"

"A powerful wizard, maybe, but how much use as a person?" Hermione argued.

"A good person too, I've heard, stuffed with power and courage and other great strengths!" Parris said.

"Stuffed indeed!" Hermione countered. She had a deep, well-established resentment for the blond Slytherin.

"Don't mind Miss Granger, Mr Parris," Dumbledore smiled. "Whenever those two meet there are ... impatient words exchanged. It is a battle of wits, nothing more."

Hermione grinned gleefully. "Yes, but last time we met, his wits disappeared! Poor thing! So who has he spent his time with while he's been away? He has a new best friend every week!"

Neville spoke up. "Sirius says here that he's been spending lots of time with Harry, Hermione!"

"Then God help Harry!" Hermione snorted. "If he's anything like Draco Malfoy now, that's the last he'll see of me!"

*

Some time later, the door to the topmost room in the South Tower swung open to reveal Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Blaise Zabini, who had become a Death Eater, but had turned spy for Dumbledore's side.

"Dumbledore!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Welcome back, Sirius! You've done us all proud!"

"Neville, Hermione, Ginny," Sirius greeted each of them in turn.

Ginny stood up and greeted them. "Hi Sirius, Harry, Draco ... Blaise."

"I see you've looked after the girls well, Longbottom," Malfoy said.

Neville nodded his head, unused to civil conversation from Malfoy. "Or maybe they've looked after you...?"

Hermione stood up and spoke for the first time. "Why are you still talking, Malfoy, no-one's listening,"

"Oh, are you still alive?" Malfoy sneered.

"Yes, and unfortunately, so are you!" Hermione replied hotly. "How unfortunate for girls everywhere!"

"Rubbish - girls everywhere love me, except you. Unfortunately for them, I don't feel the same."

"Well, they should be grateful for that! I would rather live alone than put up with a man like you!" Hermione countered, getting angry.

"Let's hope it stays that way, so some poor man can avoid getting his face scratched!" Draco argued coolly.

"Well, if it's your face we're talking about, scratching couldn't make it any worse!" Hermione cried.

"Oh, very clever. Don't you have any arguments of are your own?" Draco growled, finally losing his temper. "This conversation's finished."

"Easy way out, Malfoy," Hermione snarled under her breath.

"I think we'll stay here for a while," Sirius announced, "before we go out and search for any remaining Death Eaters."

"Very well, Sirius," Dumbledore replied, "it's almost lunchtime, and I'm sure there'll be a wonderful spread downstairs in the Great Hall." He turned to face Blaise Zabini. "I trust you and Mr Malfoy have made your peace now?"

"Y - Yes, Sir," Blaise stammered.

"Very well. Then let's all go down to dinner." Dumbledore smiled.

Everyone went to leave, except for Harry, who grabbed Draco's arm as he walked past. Eventually they were the only two left in the tower room.

"Draco, did you notice Ginny Weasley back there?" Harry asked.

"Not really. I saw her, but I didn't notice her," Draco replied.

"She looked really beautiful, didn't she?" Harry asked.

"You want me to answer honestly, or in the way I usually do about girls?"

"Honestly," Harry replied.

"Well, I would compliment her height, but she's too short. I could compliment her hair, but it's ginger. And I would compliment her face, but it's freckled. I don't really like her."

"You think I'm joking ... but to me she looked like the most beautiful girl in the world..."

"Nonsense. Now her friend Hermione, if it wasn't for that foul temper, would be more beautiful than Ginny in the same way that summer is more beautiful than winter," Draco replied. "But surely, you're not intending to start ... dating?"

"I would ... if I thought that she still liked me..."

"Oh God, am I going to be the only single man left around here before long? Are you all going to be shacked up and settled down? Get over it. Look, wake up. Sirius is here to see you,"

"Why didn't you two follow us to dinner?" Sirius asked curiously.

Draco smirked. "I can't tell you,"

Sirius thought it was a joke, and replied, "You swore an oath of loyalty to me, Malfoy. Now I command you to tell me - on your loyalty."

Draco smirked again. "Well, I don't want it said that I can't keep a secret, because I can. But - on my loyalty - the reason we didn't come with you is because Harry is in love! You want to know who with? With Ron Weasley's redheaded little sister!"

Harry blushed, and glared at Draco furiously. But he nodded his admittance.

"Tell him he can't start dating, Sirius, there's still work to be done!" Draco mocked him.

Sirius smiled down at his godson. "That's OK, Harry if it's true. Ginny's a wonderful girl."

"Ginny Weasley!" Draco scoffed. "What's happened to you, Potter?"

Sirius grinned at Draco. "Yes, but you seem to hate all women, Draco!"

"No!" he protested, grinning maliciously "I'm grateful to my mother for giving birth to me and raising me. But I'll be damned if I put up with some whiny, clinging girl out of choice! It's the single life for me!"

"I'm sure we'll see you all pale with love in the end, Draco," Sirius teased him.

"Tuh - you'll see me pale with sickness, and you'll see me pale with anger, but you'll never see me pale with love!" Draco argued.

"Well, it'll be very amusing for the rest of us if you ever change your mind!" Sirius grinned.

"If I do, shoot me!"

"Very well," Sirius agreed. "In the meantime, Draco, go down to Dumbledore and tell him that Harry and I will be down shortly."

Draco nodded and left. Sirus turned to face Harry. "Do you really, really like her, Harry? Because Ron'll kill you if you hurt her..."

"Sirius, I think I might love her. Before we left, I liked her well enough, but I always seemed to have more important things to worry about. And now that's all taken care of, I'm thinking about other things ... like how beautiful Ginny looked just now..."

Sirius grinned wickedly. "Well, then, we'll have to do something about it." He seemed to be struck with an idea. "I will have you two together by the end of the week, or my name's not Sirius Black!"

*

Blaise Zabini, who had hung around outside the tower room unseen by everyone else and heard the whole conversation, sat now at the Slytherin table with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, seething. He had lost more than anyone in this war, and he was furious at the way everything seemed to have gone straight back to normal, Harry and Draco talking about love and girls! He shot a dark glance at the High Table, where all the people he had travelled with were sitting, and started plotting, muttering under his breath to Crabbe and Goyle ...