Chapter 71: Going home
“You ready for the End-of-year feast?” Aurora asked Aerie. Madam Pomfrey was just finishing up a health check on Aerie who was patiently waiting on an examination bed.
“Madam Pomfrey?”
“Considering I can’t find anything wrong with you you can go.”
“Thank you,” Aerie offered excitedly, waited a moment for her to move out of the way, and hopped off the bed. She took Aurora by the arm and the two made their way out the door and down the hall.
“The scores are out,” Aurora offered.
“Well I should hope so considering our scores translate into house points it would be silly to wait until we are about to go home to let us know. Any chance we won the house cup too?”
“Trailing behind Slytherin, I’m afraid.”
“I thought Ravenclaw had it?”
“Both our houses managed to push past. Let’s just say that Ravenclaw students are a little weak when it comes to the practical tests.”
“Know the book by heart, can’t apply it, is that it?”
“Pretty much.”
“Hoshiko?”
“Top marks across the board.”
“Good.”
As the two entered the dining hall a hush fell over the room, all eyes turning towards the two girls.
“Word got out that they trusted me to fly down to Hogsmeade to fetch Mr Dumbledore,” Aurora whispered.
“Any idea how they found out?”
“Seventh-years are allowed to go into Hogsmeade when they’ve finished their tests.”
“That’ll do it.”
“Pretty much everyone has made the connection to the wraith and Voldemort as well.”
“And my little display at the Quidditch game likely didn’t help.”
“There is talk about whether or not you should be allowed to continue as the seeker, or allowed to play Quidditch at all.”
“A fair enough response, I guess. Nice while it lasted though.”
The two made their way to their places ignoring the whispering as they passed, sat down, and waited.
“I noticed the house banners aren’t up yet,” Aerie observed.
“Professor Dumbledore likes to hand out points right before the start of the end-of-year feast. Putting them up only to pull them down would be kind of mean-spirited and adds to the suspense.” Idda offered.
“I see… does that mean we still have a chance?”
“It very well could. One never knows. It’s all part of the anticipation.”
The room grew quiet once more, this time with anticipation as Dumbledore and the faculty members who sat at the table entered the room. Everyone took their seats save for Dumbledore who stepped up to the podium.
“Another year gone!” he all but shouted in a cheerful voice. “And it seems we’ve all made it… Well, almost all. “I’ve no doubt if Draco Malfoy was here I’d be hearing him boasting about how Slytherin won the house cup. Trust me, we can hear a good deal of what is said at the tables.” He had a mischievous smile on his face, quite possibly due to a look of dismay and horror on the faces of quite a few.
“Now, before we begin I ask you to indulge this old man with his wheezing and waffle before we sink our teeth into the delicious feast that awaits us.
“What a year it has been! And hopefully, your heads are a little fuller than they were when you started. Be sure to do your Summer assignments and make sure you review them before coming back next year. After all, we all know how the lack of study causes our heads to empty of everything we’ve learned. And that it can be far too easy to make mistakes when we don’t step back and look at the big picture. Something I was recently reminded of.
“Percy Weasley, we will be in need of a new Prefect for the Gryffindor boys’ dorm. Would you like another go at it?”
“Sir? Yes sir! Very Much sir. Thank you, sir.” He’d bolted upright causing his chair to pitch over.
“Be sure and put your badge back on before you head home. Now, I understand that you all are waiting to find out who the House Cup is going to be awarded to. As it stands, Hufflepuff is sitting at three hundred and seventeen points. Ravenclaw presently has three-hundred and seventy-two, Gryffindor has four-hundred-twenty-six, and Slytherin has a reasonably comfortable four-hundred-seventy-two.” The tension in the room was palpable. “Ah, yes, you are all wondering if I might possibly hand out enough last-minute points to dislodge you from the top, isn’t it?” He smiled a mischievous smile.
“Miss Kitsumi Silverwood, do please pull up a seat so that you can enjoy this meal with the rest of us. I can’t award you any house points for the service you did for us but as you have been under the Ravenclaw roof I will award Ravenclaw fifty house points.”
Ravenclaw erupted into applause as a striking young woman dressed in a kimono appeared to materialize standing behind Hoshiko. In truth, she’d been sitting on the floor in her fox form and simply transformed as she stood up. Chairs were shifted and an empty seat appeared before her.
“Arigatō gozaimasu. Thank you very much, I am most humbled, and honored,” she offered, and then bowed. Her little performance had been arranged ahead of time.
“For those of you wondering, our Miss Tsuki is something of a princess and Miss Silverwood was acting as her bodyguard. Which she hopefully won’t need next year.
“Hum… looks like Slytherin is still on top. Let’s see… ah yes, Ronald Weasley. I’m to understand you play a mighty mean game of chess. For the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has ever seen, and the fact that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for your friends, I award you twenty-five points.” Cheering erupted along with people thumping him on the back.
“Ronald, in the future make sure you explore all avenues before you put yourself and others in danger.
“Hang on, hang on, I’m not done yet. As you are all aware I had something precious that Quirrell wanted. And yes, I did make it kind of obvious that I’d secreted it away here in Hogwarts. Presumably via the off-limits corridor. Truth be told, it wasn’t there. He got stuck at the final challenge because it was unsolvable and the items he wanted were in the last place he’d think to look. In the Gryffindor Girl’s dorm.”
“What!!!!” This time it was Hermione who’d toppled her chair as she shot up.
“Sleight of hand is the art of misdirection, something we should never discount just because muggle tricksters do it. To Aerie Lily Potter I award the Hogwarts Award for Special Services to this school and fifty points to Gryffindor.”
That did it, Gryffindor had surpassed Slytherin. It was a clean sweep, and the people at the Gryffindor table were beyond ecstatic. The cheer that went up was so loud it was heard all the way to Ponyville. Aerie couldn't help but smile. In one move Dumbledore had made it look like her having the stone had been part of his plan all along. And, well, as plans go, it wasn’t a bad plan.
Hermione was furious. “You had it the whole fucking time!” she yelled as the Gryffindor banners unrolled to wave from the rafters.
“Hermione Granger, have a care you don’t hand the House Cup over to Slytherin!” Idda scolded.
“I did tell you to leave it alone on multiple occasions.”
Hermione picked up her chair and sat heavily as though she hoped the chair would break. At first, she just looked straight ahead, but that didn’t last long. “You had it the whole time?!”
“Pretty much, ya,” Aerie offered as she began piling food onto her plate. “He couldn't get close enough to me to read my mind. Wizards can do that you know. And if anyone else knew, he’d have found out.”
“But that’s madness.” Hermione protested.
“Yes, Dumbledore is quite mad,” Percy offered, never one to doubt Dumbledore’s greatness. “It worked though. Kind of hard to argue with that.”
“Aerie…” Aurora had pulled her aside on their way back to the dorm that night. “Why did you even give it back? The stone.”
“Because he wasn’t going to rest until he found it. He understands what it is now and says it’s going to be destroyed.”
“And you believe him?”
“I don’t know. In the story, he tells Harry Potter that the stone was destroyed but never once remarked on the fact that the stone was blood red when it should have been a light sky blue. The issue of the elixir granting years without vitality may have weighed heavily on his mind and now he understands why. I think I can trust him in this. He also wanted to know what became of the mirror.”
“You didn’t tell him, did you?”
“I told him it was a portal, that it was removed to prevent Riddle from gaining it, and that it’s presently in the custody of a Priestess of Akkadia. That seemed to satisfy him. Indeed the very idea that Riddle might have gained the ability to travel anywhere he wanted in an instant shook him to his knees. For now, I just have to hope that the next Horcrux falls into my hands before any harm can be done.”
“Let us hope so. Can I assume you’ve got an idea what to look for?”
“I do, but don’t worry about it right now. Let’s just go finish packing.”
Everyone’s trunks were ready to go by breakfast the next morning, the wardrobes empty, and checked multiple times for that last forgotten item. Aerie even made sure to check under the beds. Trevor, Neville’s toad was located lurking in the boys' bathroom, and everyone was handed a letter at breakfast addressed to their guardians reminding them that underage wizards and witches were prohibited from using magic outside of school.
Aerie’s Moonie dutifully took her place in the cat carrier, and Kitsu did so as well to maintain the illusion that she was after all just an ordinary fox with feathered wings. Luggage was loaded as students and staff climbed aboard the train.
“Curious…” Snape commented to Professor Dumbledore. With Hagrid gone, it had been up to Professor Snape and a couple of other staff members to harness up the thestrals who pulled the carriages.
“The Thestrals all bowing to Aerie and Aurora as they passed?”
“Yes, I’ve never seen them do that before. Bow to someone.”
“Right off hand it’s entirely possible that they know. They bowed to Miss Tsuki as well.”
“Then they should have bowed to Neville as well, but they didn’t.”
“Curious that. I wonder if it has anything to do with their Akkadian magical creature form.”
“You’ve seen it then? Aerie’s form?”
“A white-winged unicorn. Young, beautiful, and unbelievable power when they cut loose.”
The Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, windows opened to the warm air, the sound of chatter and laughter emanating from within as the two men watched it go.
“So, what adventure awaits us next year?” Snape asked.
“Don’t ask me. I don’t even know if I’ll still be in charge next year. I’m a little concerned that when the board meets they might choose a new Head Master.”
“I doubt you need to worry about Lucius Malfoy. He’d like nothing better than to see you crash and burn, and that’s not likely to happen if he puts you out to pasture.”
“Aerie thinks one of Riddle’s artifacts may show up next year. Cursed artifacts.”
“I remember him boasting he’d beaten death. These artifacts you speak of, do they have something to do with that?”
“You saw Neville’s memory of the event. All he succeeded in doing was finding a way to prevent his soul from crossing over. In the worst possible way.”
“I’ve no doubt about that.”
Aerie had barely stepped off the train when she was swept up into a hug by her Princess Luna. Flora was the next to give her a hug.
“Aurora!”
“Mom?!” Aurora exclaimed as she too got a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“What? I can’t come to greet my own daughter at the train station?”
“It’s just that…”
“Let me guess, you figured I’d be a complete no-show like Christmas, didn’t you?”
“Well, pretty much yes.”
“Things are going to be different. I’ve been given a position at Pimlico, and I’ve picked up one of the apartments around the corner, cheap.”
“Um… mom….”
“yes, yes, I know.” She leaned in and whispered, “It’s so hard for me to think of you as a grown… grown up with responsibilities when you are still so young right now, right here. You were gone… I didn’t even notice.”
“Far as I could tell, I wasn’t gone all that long.”
“And yet you were gone long enough to start your life all over again. I’ve talked with Brightstar. - Listen, you are going to need to at the very least go through the motion of being my little girl. Just for a little while longer. Alright? Spend part of the summer with me, and my new place is only about a block away.”
“Alright, I can do that. Heck, I’ve been sneaking out to spend time with Louise. We still don’t know what’s become of her parents.”
“I’m well aware. We’ve talked to Dash, and she’s promised to dial it down, and to spend time with her.”
“Mom…”
“When I think about how close you two came to not coming back… don’t you dare do that to Louise.”
“It was Aerie, Hoshiko, and Kitsumi who confronted it. Not me. All I did was zip into town to get the Headmaster’s brother.” Aurora looked around her wondering if people were looking at them only to see the same scene being played out up and down the platform. A number of the girls both young and old were crying, the weight of those tense months having finally been lifted. Some were honestly distraught that they’d had to endure, while others were overcome with relief at finally going home. To sleep in their own bed. Dine at their own table. And no one there like Flint, or Quirrell. Home.
Aurora wasn’t sure why she’d started to sing, but once the song had begun it just seemed right, like it was from the heart.
“Times have changed and times are strange
Here I come, but I ain't the same
Mama, I'm coming home...”
Funny how when someone starts a heart-song others will join in. Aerie was the first.
“Time's gone by, it seems to be
You could have been a better friend to me
Mama, I'm coming home...”
Heart magic, like a fire it spread.
“You took me in and you drove me out
Yeah, you had me hypnotized, yeah
Lost and found and turned around
By the fire in your eyes…” (Mama, I’m Coming Home: Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy is a wizard, they all know the song.)
Platform nine and three-quarters slowly emptied until there was but one woman standing alone. She looked to be a proud woman, well dressed, she had dark hair with a shock of gray on the left and right side of her forehead. A single teardrop rolled down her cheek as the train pulled away.
She heaved a sigh and started to turn.
Standing just a short distance from her stood a ghostly figure that reminded her a great deal of Selena Moon Tsuki. And unlike the Selena of the amulets who dressed in black, she wore white garments that looked as though they were made of moonlight and shifted as though blown by a gentle breeze.
“What do you want? You look a good deal like Selena, but… Who or what are you? And what do you want of me?”
“I am not Selena but she is known to me. They are of the royal line. Why do you linger here when all have gone?”
“And why should that matter to you?”
“Your family served me, once... long ago. Before Night Fall, before you lost your way.”
“Served you? Served you? Who are you? How do you know about Night Fall?”
“Night Fall was triggered by a bunch of self-serving nobles who goaded – tricked my sister into betraying me. To some I am called Selene, to others Luna, or Diana. I am also known as Rhiannon, Máni, and Ben-rein Nyhoie – I am the Queen of the night. And I… would know why you weep?”
“I weep because my son has been taken from me.” Her response was measured but betrayed her anguish.
“You have a daughter. If you wish to seek her out you will find her near the place of my ancient stronghold in Scotland. The place is known as the Silver Wood.”
“Daughter? I have no daughter?”
“Did they not tell you?”
“Men never include women in their important matters. My husband told me that Draco was dead.”
“And yet you chose to come here.”
“In truth, my husband is a cruel man and I knew he was lying to me because Severus Snape yet lives. I bound his life to my son’s life.”
“By chance are thou familiar with Salmacis Thorn and its effects?”
“That… That bastard!”
“I take it by that outburst that thou are indeed familiar with it.”
“I am indeed. He would dare abandon my child… Forgive me, I need to go, now.”
Even as Narcissa Malfoy turned the ghostly figure vanished as though mist blown by the wind, and when she had gone the shadows near the exit drew back to unveil Princess Luna with the Elder Wand in her hand. She put the wand away, turned, and walked up the ramp.
“Mom!” Aerie called. “Honestly, how long does it take you to powder your nose?”
“That wasn’t nose powdering, you were up to something, weren’t you?” Flora asked.
“Maybe,” Luna replied with a sly smile as she rejoined the others.
“Let’s just go,” Basil said. “It’s getting late.”
“Late? The night has just begun,” Selena Tsuki countered.
“My dear, as true as that may be, I think Hoshiko and the others have had a long day.” Mr Tsuki offered with a smile. “Let’s get them to bed and then we can play.”
End Book one
And that's the end of book one of the Harry Potter series as liberally reinterpreted by myself.
Stay tuned.
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Interesting so they didn’t wrap everything up. Now to deal with that stupid cup and diary because those are the only two left to grab.
11757871
It's the diary and ring she needs to get. The cup was the first thing she dealt with.
Just for clarity, can we expect book 2 next week or does the end of book 1 mark a break in posting? I haven't seen any indication that you're planning on taking a break but it would be a natural point to take one.
loved this story too much, and your other stories with Nova (I re-read them often)
11757928
I'm going to keep going. Chapters are already in the queue. As a special Thanksgiving treat, I'm going to drop the first of the Summer Vacation Arch tomorrow.
wow i love the bit at the end and i am hopping this is a hit , or should i say a flashback to one of your other story's.
this is a amazing end to this huge ark.
and i love the song. i met Ozzy back in the early 90es at a concert. he was so wasted i am surprised he code even stand.
Malfoy mom is going to kill her husband. Although I do hope thanks to her forest detention is canceled forever and replaced by something not so deadly.
11757888
The diary she is working on through the house elves but the ring is still at the house where its last owner lived. That might take some work to get.
11758840
In the books, Dumbledore finds the ring, puts it on, and gets cursed. Why? Because he's obsessed with the Deathly Hollows and/or he's just stupid. He knew Voldemort had it, he knew it had a Horcrux in it, and presumedly one would think that it would be cursed if they took a hot second to think about it.
Aerie will eventually get the ring, but not in the way it was in the books.