Disclaimer: I don't own nobody of the characters, they are property of JK Rowling
A/N: Here I'm again, thanking all of you who are reading and reviewing my story. Thanks also to my wonderful beta Petunia. Probably after this one we will have another last chapter, but maybe we will have two…I still don't know…I was thinking to add a chapter between this and the last I have already written, but I'm still not sure.
HnH4Eva19: I'm sad Dumbledore died, too, but I thought it was necessary. For Ron, it was really him in the battle.
Athena: Well, Harry used the sword to kill him, so if that sword can cut easily the metal, why not the human body and bones? I feel bad for Dumbledore too.
Hermione Potter: Yes, we will have this chapter and then at least another one.
Creepy Susie: I can understand you, but that sword could cut everything, so it was simple to cut body parts. I know it was a little bit violent, tough…
Antone: I had to kill Dumbledore because if I didn't Voldemort would have continued to battle with him, and not with Harry…
JayaMioneDurron: I never said he would be back to normal, I meant he would return from missing. I felt bad for Harry having to kill him, too, but who other could do that?
KypDurron: You'll see the Weasleys reaction in this chapter, a bit at least…
Coolone007: No, there is no redemption for him…you'll see something about the reactions to his death in this chapter.
Chapter Seventeen
"New Life"
Exiting the room, Harry and Hermione returned where they had landed. Harry touched the Portkey they used muttering "Portus" so it was again functioning. He grasped Dumbledore's body, still holding Hermione's hand, and then she touched the Portkey, too. They felt the usual hooking sensation and after few moments they were again in the Headmaster's office. It was by now near dawn, so they thought it was a good idea inform McGonagall immediately.
They went to the kitchens searching for Dobby.
"Dobby, can you escort us to the Staff Quarters?" Harry asked when the house-elf appeared.
"Dobby is very happy to help Harry Potter, sir."
They followed him and knocked on the Transfiguration Professor's door.
When the old witch opened the door, seeing their distressed faces, she invited them in, then cast a Silencing Charm on the room.
"Seat, please, and tell me what had happened…" she said.
They kindly thanked the old witch and seated, but Hermione was still shocked by what had happened to speak about it.
"Well, as you know, tonight we went with the Headmaster to fight Voldemort…" Harry started
"Yes, I know…go on, please…"
"Well, we inspected all the manor, and defeated some Death Eaters, then we finally found the right room, in the dungeons. I opened the door and we saw Voldemort in the centre of the room, but he was not alone. With him there were Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley."
"But this is impossible…a Weasley…allied with Voldemort? I can't believe this…" McGonagall commented, starting to pace her room.
"We also were shocked…but it seems that he was very jealous of me and Hermione being a couple. He wanted her, so it seems Voldemort had promised him an help to have her and he accepted."
McGonagall waved her hand signalling to him to continue.
Harry told her all the events of the night, and finally admitted that Dumbledore was dead. McGonagall's face was crossed by tears, however she hugged them.
"Thank you for having saved our world…now, go and have your deserved rest…" she said, still sobbing for the Headmaster's and the young Weasley's losses.
Harry took Hermione's hand, and led her to their private quarters. They weren't able to sleep, so passed the rest of the night on the couch, hugged tightly, every now and then letting tears flow on their cheeks, in memory of their beloved Headmaster and their former best friend. They remembered all the wonderful moments they had passed together with the red-haired boy.
***
Next day, Harry noticed that Minister Fudge was at the Staff table, and signalled him to the other Gryffindors. All of them were wondering what he was doing there.
"Today, we have to remember a great wizard…able to defeat one of the most powerful dark sorcerers, Grindelwald, and to train two seventeen years old students to defeat another dark wizard. We are here to commemorate the great Albus Dumbledore, dead this night, battling against Voldemort."
Loud whisperings filled the Great Hall, and many students flinched at the name. After some moments the silence was restored and Fudge continued.
"With him there were two students of this school, the two who actually killed Voldemort". Again many students flinched, others started cheering hearing that Voldemort was dead.
"They are two Gryffindors…Harry Potter and Hermione Granger..."
All the school looked at them, and cheered them up, but McGonagall required another time the silence.
"Please, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger, come here. We are honoured to award both of you with the Merlin's Order, First Class. You have saved our world, and given to all of us the chance to start a new life." the Minister added.
Harry and Hermione received their awards, and then another was assigned to Dumbledore, post mortem. When Harry and Hermione were again at the Gryffindor table, Fudge said:
"And now, we need to choose another Headmaster. Well, I think that Professor McGonagall will suit perfectly this position."
Another time, the Great Hall was filled with clapping of hands and cheering up…
***
That evening, after dinner, McGonagall gathered Harry, Hermione and Ginny in her office, and helped the young couple to explain Ron's death to Ginny, who was shocked about her brother's actions and death and burst in tears. Harry comforted her, hugging her, while Hermione told her soothing words.
"I can't believe what he wanted to do to you two…" she said, still sobbing when she recovered a little.
"It's ok, now all of this is finished" Harry whispered her, still holding her in his arms.
"Maybe it is better if you go and take your rest, now…it had been a stressful experience…" he added after kissing softly her forehead.
She nodded and went to her dorm, still sobbing, she didn't know if more for her brother's death or his shameful behaviour.
***
From that day, everyone in school looked with new admiration to the "best couple in Hogwarts", as Harry and Hermione were still called, but they didn't mind, because for the first time from when they had known their real nature, they were free to behave as young wizards and witches of their age were supposed to do. They by now had only two worries: the N.E.W.T.s and to face the sorrow of Ron's loss.
Harry enjoyed the new sensation, of being without burdens on his shoulders, now that the Prophecy was fulfilled. Sometimes, however, he thought about how Ron had behaved, and was really sad his former best friend had chosen the wrong way.
"If only I had talked with him earlier, maybe we could have saved him…" he often found himself thinking.
"Can you imagine if all this would be happened out of school? He could have been another Wormtail. I had complete faith in him…and he betrayed me, us, in this way! But maybe we could have done something more to understand him, to help him…" he was discussing with Hermione one evening, in the common room. She nodded sadly, and snuggled near him, tears slowly running down her cheeks.
***
Finally, the N.E.W.T.s arrived. First day, they had Charms.
In the morning, there was the written test, and Harry, thanks to Hermione, who had prepared for him a special review program, had been able to answer all the questions, even if a couple of them had given him some troubles.
Then, in the afternoon, they had the practical test, and the examiner asked him to perform a series of spells, from the Silencing Charm to the Conjuring Spell. He obviously had no problems in that, too.
Next day, they had Transfiguration. In the theory test, Harry was able to answer the questions, remembering Hermione's notices that he had studied the previous night, so they at lunch were both quite satisfied. Then, they relaxed a little near the lake, before the practical test, in which both of them were brilliant.
DADA was definitely the subject in which Harry felt very good. It was the unique subject in which he was able to be better than Hermione, both in theory than in practice, so he had definitely no problems in this exam. He had never had problems in this, but this year, with the mage powers fully trained, the practical one was really a joke, and so was for Hermione. Plus, he suspected that even if he chose to not respond, they would give him the highest mark only because he and Hermione had defeated Voldemort.
After all the other exams, as Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy for Harry, the same less Divination and with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes for Hermione, they arrived to the last day. It was the day of Potions…
They entered the Great Hall, and Harry felt his head spinning, reading the complex questions Snape had prepared for them. He was staring the wall, when he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
Startled, he turned, and saw Snape, who snuck a paper under his exam text, and then moved, giving him a little smirk.
Harry was disbelieving…Snape had given him the solutions!! He wondered why the Professor he hated more was behaving that way, but as he was running out of time, he copied it, and put the parchment cautiously in his pocket.
During lunch, Harry whispered to Hermione what had happened, and she was just as disbelieved as him. Harry looked to the staff table, and saw McGonagall smiling at him. Suddenly he understood: McGonagall had wanted to help him to become an Auror, as she had promised him.
In the afternoon, Harry worked hard on his potion, to make all the new Headmistress's efforts for him useful and was quite satisfied with the result.
Then, the seventh years relaxed until the end of the term for all the other students…they passed their days playing Exploding Snap, or near the lake. Harry and Hermione visited Hagrid almost every day and Harry convinced her to go flying with him, teaching her a little.
In those days, both Harry and Hermione received, as all the other Gryffindors, offers to go working in the Ministry, at St.Mungo's…even the twins asked them if they wanted to work in their shop. The most amazing offer was to be an Auror. Moody trusted them and knew they were very good for the job even not having already seen their exams marks. Plus, they were after all mages so he thought they could be the best Aurors the Ministry could ask.
However, they replied to all of them that they wanted some time to think before choosing their career as Harry wanted to be an Auror, but on the other hand, living all time fighting was not so much attractive. Hermione would like to be an Auror, too, but her parents had always her to be a doctor, so being an Healer at St.Mungo's was a way to not delude them too much…
In the last days of the term, however, Harry and Hermione had also to write their speeches, as Head Boy and Head Girl, for the Graduation ceremony. They had also to help adorning the room for the ceremony, so they were really busy.
Finally, that evening came, and they had to speak in front of all their friends and by now former Professors. Harry was the first.
"You know, this castle had been my true home for seven years, and now, thinking that I have to leave it, is a little sad. Here I learnt all what I know…here, I found the friendship I had never had before…and finally, I had found love. So, this school will always live with me, every day, even if I'll be far from here, in all the things it had given me…for this reason, I want to thank all our Professors, and remember the former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who had been as a grandfather for me…" saying this, a tear escaped from his eyes, and he left the scene to Hermione.
"As Harry had said, this school will be every day in our daily lives…I came here, seven years ago, with the only aim to be the best witch in my year, possibly in the school, to demonstrate that also a Muggle-born witch is worth to be respected. I was interested in only studying, but my friends, and my love, opened my eyes, revealing that there was something more important: bravery…loyalty…friendship…all these feelings make the real great wizard. These feelings are what had given us the chance to start a new life, full of joy and freedom, without fear. "
All the room clapped its hands, and then the banquet started.
After some time, in which all the seventh year students ate a lot, the room changed his appearance, the house tables were changed in small ones, with some drinks on them, and finally the music started…as Head Boy and Head Girl, Harry and Hermione opened the dances, he in his green robes, matching his wonderful eyes, and she in a bright red dress, which was perfectly shaped on her body.
Even if he had always hated to dance, and in his fourth year at the Yule Ball he had limited the experience to the minor time possible, that night he enjoyed that. Maybe it was because now he had her in his arms, or maybe because he had improved a little…
They danced a lot, especially the slow songs, close one to the other.
Around them, in the meanwhile, Neville was dancing with Ginny, who was by now his girlfriend and had obtained a special permission to go at the Ball. They were dancing very close, but not as close as Seamus and Lavender…or as Dean and Parvati…
When the night was near to his end, Harry mustered the courage to do something he wanted to do from the day he killed Ron. He sent Hermione to fetch Ginny, then they walked toward the other Weasleys.
"We…hem…we wanted to say…we are really sorry for Ron…" Harry and Hermione started when they reached their table.
Mrs. Weasley looked at them with a cold look he had never seen in her eyes, and so did Arthur.
"If you're so sorry, you should have not killed him." Mr. Weasley replied.
"Dad! What are you saying? I know you are sad for his death but he wanted to kill them, for Merlin's sake!" Ginny yelled.
"Ginny, stay out of this. He killed your brother, how can you defend him? And you're brother had never wanted to kill Harry, neither he was a Death Eater…" Mrs. Weasley said, looking at them angrily.
"I'm really ashamed to have welcomed such a murderer in our house, so please stay away from us, both of you" Mr. Weasley said, while starting to stand up.
At this point, Fred took his parents away.
"Dad…you're making a mistake…you, too, Mum…I didn't know how to say that, but I think now it is the moment. I was in Ron's room yesterday, and found under his bed a Death Eater robe with his name engraved on the inner part." he said.
Mrs. Weasley looked at him as he had grown a second head.
"Are you saying the truth?" she asked her voice cracking.
"I'm sorry, Mum…yes…Ron was really a Death Eater…"
Both the adult Weasleys looked at each other, a sad look in their eyes, then they looked at Harry and Hermione and started crying freely. They returned to them.
"Harry…Hermione…Fred here gave us evidence that you two were saying the truth about Ron being a Death Eater. I'm sorry for how I reacted before. Can you ever forgive us for what we said earlier?" Mr. Weasley said.
"Of course we forgive you…it was hard also for us to believe that…but we saw him directly with Voldemort, so we couldn't doubt it." Hermione replied, she crying, too. Harry nodded, wrapping an arm around her.
At the end of the Ball, a great quantity of owls entered the room, with the results of the exams.
Neville had gained the minimum mark in almost all the subjects, apart for Herbology, in which he had gained the top mark. Seamus, instead, had received average marks in every subject, while Dean had done poorly in Astronomy and Herbology. He also had the minimum mark in Divination.
Parvati had almost all quite high marks, except for Astronomy. She had also had a low mark in Care of Magical Creatures. Lavender, too, received top marks in Divination, but was not so good in DADA and was average in all the other subjects.
Harry, instead, had achieved top marks in all the subjects, except for Divination, where he gained the minimum, and Astronomy, in which he had gained an average mark…so, totally, he had gained 11 N.E.W.T.s, as DADA, Transfiguration, Charms and even Potions had given him two N.E.W.T.s each other.
Hermione, instead, had received top marks in all the subjects, for a total of 12 N.E.W.T
After the end of the Graduation ceremony, all the seventh years returned to their dorms to pass their last night at Hogwarts. When Harry and Hermione were leaving, McGonagall stopped them, and brought them in her office.
"From both your speeches, tonight, I had sensed your huge love for the school. I know very well your skills, too, so I want to propose you to be the new DADA and Transfiguration Professors."
They were breathless. Finally, after some minutes, they accepted warmly, it was what in the depths of their hearts they had always dreamed to be in their life, Hogwarts Professors…then left the room to reach their quarters.
When they were in their common room, they seated on the couches, chatting about their new life. At one point, Harry went on one knee, pulling out of his pocket a small box.
"Hermione…You're the only person in this world who really showed me what love is. You're the one who had been on my side no matter what. I know for sure that in my heart nobody else will ever find place…so I'm asking you…will you marry me?" he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
She was speechless, tears of happiness threatening to fall… she looked at the ring, a white gold one, with a diamond in the centre, an a platinum band surrounding it. On the band there was engraved: "To Hermione, my only love", and at each end of it there was a small emerald.
She was not able anymore to hold her tears, and not being able to speak, kissed him passionately.
"I guess this is a yes…" he said sheepishly
She nodded, and finally managed to reply.
"Yes, Harry…I'll marry you!!"