After the last meal in the Great Hall, it was time for the foreign guests to leave. The Durmstrang students were, thankfully, capable of guiding their boat back home without their former headmaster. Unfortunately, the story was vastly different for the Beauxbaton students. Harry felt bad, knowing exactly how the Beauxbatons had "misplaced" the pegasi. Lucky for them, the Ministry was willing to provide transport back to their school until they could track down the missing creatures. Harry doubted they would succeed in that endeavor.
Before they left, Harry did have a chance to say goodbye to his fellow champions. Harry insisted on apologizing to Krum for giving him some nasty burns, and Krum insisted on apologizing for what he did while under Crouch's control. Fleur said she wished to return to England at some point to work on her English. Harry wished them both luck in their futures. After those farewells, Twilight joined to walk to the train to follow Harry back to King's Cross. She said Celestia would meet them later and help Harry collect his items from the Dursleys. Everything was calm and quiet until they loaded into their train compartment.
"Is there a spare seat in this compartment?" a voice asked. The four looked at the door to see none other than Princess Celestia standing outside the door. "Train rides are such a rarity for me these days. You wouldn't mind if I sat here?" she gestured next to Twilight.
"Of course not," Harry said politely. He moved himself to sit on the other side with Ron and Hermione, allowing Celestia to sit by the window next to her student.
"So, you're really a princess?" Hermione asked.
"Last I checked, I was," Celestia said with a teasing smile.
"And you're in charge of your country? Most muggle county's monarchies have collapsed or turned into public figureheads," Hermione inquired.
"I am in charge, yes. I have ruled as Equestria's sole monarch for nearly a thousand years, but my sister has recently returned to some of her royal duties."
"Fascinating," Hermione said. "I've never heard of a monarch government lasting that long."
"Well, I've had to make changes over the centuries. Earth ponies elected a chancellor, unicorns had royalty, and pegasus had a meritocratic stratocracy. It took my sister and I years to get it right," Celestia remarked lightly. "I do not believe we have been properly introduced. You're Harry's two human friends, correct? Might I ask for your names?"
"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said with a dip of her head.
"Ron Weasley," Ron said.
"Pleasure to meet you. Twilight told me you were friends of Harry's, though ones with questionable trust in him," Celestia said.
"I don't get why everyone makes such a big deal over it," Hermione protested. "Your majesty," she corrected herself.
Celestia merely raised an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when the compartment door slid open. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle stood outside, looking as smug as ever, though they looked angrier than normal.
"Oh, look, Potter and his merry band. I see you brought your girlfriend back," he sneered.
"I see you got your smug face back. What, is your father going to pay another bribe to stay out of Azkaban with the rest of his group? Last I heard, he's between a rock and a hard place at the Ministry. Or, just a rock," Harry bit back. His hand clenched tightly, a spell forming in his mind.
Draco's smirk turned to a scowl in a blink.
"You're on the loosing side, Potter! Know this, I warned you!" Draco scathed. "I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this!" he jerked his head at Ron and Hermione.
Celestia stood up tall in the compartment. Her expression was hardened, disrupting her serene face.
"Well then, all things considered, Harry has made far better choices than you. Friends are perferable to minions," she scolded the boy.
Draco backed off slightly, a little intimidated. His hand was in his robes, likely reaching for his wand. But his hand emerged empty, a shocked expression painted on his face. Celestia unfolded her arms, revealing a wand resting in her hand. She looked at it curiously.
"Unicorn hair? How odd. To think, a mere hair and sliver of wood is the defining factor in your power," she remarked.
"That's my wand!" Draco shouted. "Who do you think you are, pickpocketing a pure-blood?!" Draco demanded arrogantly.
Celestia put on an aloof smirk. She tossed the wand back to Draco, who fumbled the catch.
"You may call me Celestia. My student has told me about you and your father. Don't think I haven't seen your brand of arrogance before. I pity your upbringing," she said coldly.
"Pity? Don't patronize me," Draco snarked angrily. "Just more of Potter's pretend pals, the lot of you. You're not of pure blood like I am. Make no mistake, you'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well, second, after he comes for your worthless frie-"
It was like a box of fireworks exploded from the compartment. Spells flung about the place blinding and deafening most of the present company. When Harry blinked to rid his eyes of the afterimages, the results were obvious.
Crabbe and Goyle were on the ground, unconscious. Malfoy was plastered to the wall in a block of ice, but similarly unconscious. Ron and Hermione had their wands raised; Harry and Twilight had their hands raised. A golden barrier rested between them, courtesy of Celestia.
The Weasley twins walked down the hall to the downed boys.
"Quite the light show you got down here," George quipped as he stepped over Crabbe.
"Who iced Malfoy?" Fred asked.
"Me," Twilight supplied.
"I was trying to petrify him," Harry said.
"Without a wand?" asked Ron.
"Well, I thought it was worth a shot. You all had my back anyways," Harry noted.
"Well, it didn't work that well," George commented, poking Malfoy with his wand. The boy's head moved with some resistance. "Less petrified and more stiff, don'tcha think?"
"Yep. Well, we wanted to ask if you wanted to play a game of Exploding Snaps, but it's clear the compartment is full," Fred said.
"By the way, you never introduced us to your friends, formally," George said.
"Oh. This is my friend, Twilight Sparkle, and this is Princess Celestia." Harry pointed at the transformed unicorn and alicorn.
Fred and George made a show of an overly dramatic bow, grinning.
"Your highness."
"He's George."
"He's Fred."
"We're the Weasley twins," they said at once.
"Oh no, it's the Flim Flam Brothers all over again," Twilight groaned into her palms.
"Add pinstripes, a bow tie, and a hat, you couldn't tell the difference," Harry joked.
Twilight sunk further into her seat and Celestia merely chuckled.
"Well, if you're busy, we have some things to check on," George said. He and Fred stepped back before Harry stood up.
"Fred, George, wait, I have something for you two." Harry pulled out his wand and his Triwizard winnings floated out of his trunk. "Here, have it. Consider it an investment in your joke shop," he said.
The twins looked at the bag of galleons and Harry in disbelief.
"You're mental," Fred said.
"Nope, take it. I sent some of it along with Cedric's family to pay for his treatments, but it's barely a dent in this thing. The rest is yours, for your joke shop," Harry said as he thrust the bag into their hands.
"He is mental," Fred said in an almost awed voice.
"Just take it," insisted Harry. "I'll never use it, and we could all use a few good laughs with what's coming. Take it, buy your family something nice, and get that shop up and running just like you talked about."
The twins left the compartment in a daze, still processing what Harry had just given them. And, to be fair, Harry himself had very little understanding of the value of wizard money, so he had even less idea of what he gave them. Not that Harry cared about that.
"You should be careful, Harry," Celestia warned. "At this rate you'll replace Rarity as the Element of Generosity," she said teasingly.
Everyone shared a quick laugh at that. The rest of the train ride was occupied by small talk and conversation, most of it centered on Equestria. Unfortunately, the train arrived at the station exactly on time, leading to heartfelt hugs and goodbyes. All those events lead Harry, Twilight, and Celestia to the gateway back to King's Cross Station.
"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked Celestia.
"You have to go with the Dursleys to collect any personal items before Twilight and I collect you shortly thereafter. Then we will travel back to Canterlot to finalize a few details. After that, everything is up to you," Celestia said. "I hate sending you back even for one second, but it is an unfortunate side effect of the legal process."
"Well, if it's only for an hour or so, I think I can manage," Harry said with less enthusiasm.
When Harry exited Platform Nine and Three-quarters, absolutely no words were exchanged between him and the Dursleys. Harry loaded into the back of the car and arrived at Privet Drive without incident. When Harry unpacked his stuff he collected any items he left at the house in his bags, not that there was much there anyway. His enjoyment and anxiousness increased with each passing minute.
"Boy! Why haven't you unpacked yet? You have chores to get started," Aunt Petunia fumed at the boy.
Harry smirked at her attitude. "Well, you see—" Harry was cut off by the doorbell ringing. His smile widened, already knowing who was at the door.
"Petunia, would you get the door? I'm busy!" Vernon demanded from the floor below, probably watching the telly.
"Stay here," Petunia huffed. She turned to tread down the stairs, leaving Harry behind.
Harry, of course, didn't care as he left the room a few seconds later. He looked down the stairs where Petunia was standing at the door, giving herself a once-over to make sure she was presentable. She opened the door and let out a screech at the two people standing before her. Two humans, one with purple hair and the other with multicolored hair, stood before the threshold. Harry bounded down the stairs gleefully, rushing past his aunt to hug Twilight. Vernon appeared next to his wife a mere second later.
"What the— Who are you people!? Are you- are you one of them?!" he demanded angrily.
Celestia folded her hands and stood tall before Vernon.
"Ah, the Dursley family, I presume? I've been waiting to meet you all week," she said coolly. "I'm here concerning the living conditions of Harry Potter whilst away from school."
Vernon and Petunia exchanged terrified glances.
"So- you're- you're one of his people, aren't you? What are you doing here? You're- you're not welcome," Petunia stuttered.
Celestia waved a hand, and several sheets of paper manifested out of thin air. The Dursleys looked even more scared, if possible, at a comparatively simple feat of magic.
"You may call me Princess Celestia. I am here on behalf of the Equestrian government to retrieve Harry Potter from you, permanently," she commanded.
"You people are in government?" Vernon rambled. "Oh, that explains everything, no wonder—"
Celestia cut him off.
"You misunderstand. I'm not a member of the Ministry of Magic or your human government. My reason for being here is tied to neither governing body."
"Celestia, can we, um, skip the pleasantries? Please?" Harry asked.
Celestia nodded. "Of course," she said. She turned to face the Dursleys. "I have with me the necessary papers to transfer his guardianship from your 'care' to be a ward of the Equestrian government. So here is the deal: sign and he will leave and never return, or I will take you to court over child neglect and abuse to take him by force!" she commanded in a volume just beneath the royal Canterlot voice.
The Dursleys shrank back in fear, their faces losing all color. Celestia held the papers out in her hands, a stern expression covering her serene face.
"If- if we do this, we'll never have to see- see him again?" Vernon whimpered. "What of the other freaks?" he hissed.
"The relevant magical parties have been notified of his transfer. It is in your best interest to sign and pray charges won't be pressed," Celestia spoke as her eyebrows lowered, approaching a scowl.
She handed the papers over to Vernon, who grabbed them as though they were set to explode. He fished a pen out of his pocket and scanned through the documents with a salesman's eye. Petunia urged her husband to read faster, but Vernon continued all the same, muttering something about selling his soul. When the documents appeared satisfactory, Vernon scribbled his signature on them and told Petunia to do the same. The moment after he was done the papers vanished in a flash of magic.
"That concludes our business. Harry, Twilight, it is time we returned home," Celestia declared. A flash of magic preceded Harry's belongings being summoned in front of the house. "Is that everything?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Harry replied.
"Good."
Celestia swung her hand, and the door separating them from the Dursleys slammed shut. For Harry, it symbolized a new beginning, one where he wouldn't have to dread the summer months. He was finally free of that wretched family and was going to find a new home with friends.
"You won't be seeing them ever again," Celestia said. "And I don't suspect their neighbors will be, not anytime soon."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"I had some things to do before visiting Hogwarts. One of those was collecting the guardianship documents, the other was extensive research of your non-magical laws. I found a few of interest." Celestia pulled out two packets of paper. "For example: Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and Children Act 1989. These lay out the terms for how children are to be treated and what violates those terms. I believe the Dursleys to be in violation," Celestia said with a cunning look. She vanished the papers again.
"You read all those laws?" Harry said, surprised.
"I've been in politics longer than any government on Earth, this is a drop in the bucket," Celestia said dismissively. "Anyways, I left an anonymous tip with a social worker. Some well-placed evidence will be enough to start a formal investigation without you. We can let the law do the rest."
"You mean they'll be investigated?" Harry asked. He was stunned; the Dursleys had always gotten away with being horrible people, and now it was being brought to light. Celestia just went above and beyond. "What do you think will happen?"
Celestia placed a slender finger on her chin. "I suppose they will be investigated and sentenced for child abuse. After all, the government knows you exist, you went to a public school, and you completely disappeared when your guardianship was transferred the day after the report was filed. That's suspicious on its own. I made a few redacted copies of your letters, and made a list of humans who know you based off of that, including a squib named Arabella Figg."
"What about Dudley? He's a minor."
"I suspect he'll be handed off to another guardian. I hate separating families, but it's better for him this way," Celestia said with some regret written on her face.
"Better?" Harry echoed.
Celestia nodded. "I don't like to judge based on upbringing, but who raises you is an important part of growing up. You being a good person in spite of that upbringing is remarkable. Your cousin, however, was raised to believe you were a freak, deserving of being punished, demeaned, and abused. What would happen to him if he grew up and was put in the same situation as his parents?" she asked gently.
"He'd be just like them," Harry realized. He suddenly understood Celestia's motives. Dudley would continue a cycle of bad habits if nothing changed.
"You ready to go?" Twilight asked, grabbing Harry's hand.
"I've been ready for months," he replied.
"Then let's go," Celestia said. "It's time we all return home."
She raised her hand and a halo of lights surrounded them. Harry closed his eyes as the light reached blinding levels. Harry felt himself being pulled along by the magic calling him to Equestria. He felt his body shift to an equine, everything changing to fit an Equestrian unicorn pony. He felt no wings on his back like his dreams. When Harry opened his eyes he was greeted not by the houses of Privet Drive but the halls of Canterlot, windows lit by the light of Celestia's setting sun. He was back in Equestria.
"Harry!"
"Twilight!"
The two were steamrolled by six bodies of five ponies and one dragon piling on them in a massive hug. Behind them, Celestia let out a small laugh at her little ponies' expense. Harry and Twilight laughed as their friend's embrace engulfed them. Harry was finally somewhere he felt he belonged, with his friends.
There was nothing worth more than that.