Chapter 14 - Epilogue
"I'm sure you told me that you didn't want this Amelia," Harry commented looking around the offices. "Minister Bones," he finished with a smile.
"Harry, Amelia is fine, we spent enough time together to earn the familiarity," she commented warmly gesturing over to the side by the fire.
Harry nodded as he took a seat with Amelia summoning the tea tray. "How are you settling into being in the top job?"
"After everything with Voldemort and settling all those things Fudge decided he'd had enough, as much as I didn't want the job," she sat down opposite him. "Someone had to do it."
Harry nodded with a slight smile. "I understand."
After tea was poured and they chatted about simple casual things Amelia asked a proper question.
"What brings you to want to see me Harry?" She asked with a slight smile and tone of concern.
Harry sighed. After it was all done, he'd gone to see Sirius properly and spend some time with him, he seemed...happy enough albeit not wishing to return to Britain 'too many memories there'. Happy enough in his new home in Santiago. With access to his bank accounts, the reparations from the Ministry...he seemed content and relaxed without concerns, a little too relaxed and without concern some of the time. It worried him when he was there, and when he was away, Tonks told him he shouldn't, worry that is. Sirius was...enjoying his life as much as he could given what Azkaban had taken from him. Tonks told him he shouldn't worry about him for that, and he tried not to, most of the time.
'My floo's always open Harry, drop in and see me,' Sirius had said whenever he'd been there.
After Hermione and Draco had finished Hogwarts, and they'd all gone out, had dinner like proper adults and had dark deep conversations about what they'd seen and experienced, but after that he'd been at slightly of a loss of what to do.
He knew he didn't want to do nothing, not like Sirius, although he understood why Sirius had taken that path. Harry may worry for his godfather, but he'd never impose or judge, he could never do that.
Hermione was off doing extra study while working towards something 'bridging the gap between the muggle and wizarding worlds, there's a lot to do within that space Harry, and there's money in it!...not that I would focus on that, but there's experience missing in that sector'.
Draco too 'outside of the Ministry and finding influence there are several interesting opportunities for a wizard with a more open mind than...than that of the previous generation, I've been spurred to read and look wider than where I had been aiming for'.
Cedric had decided to travel, to properly get away and escape the confines of Britain. 'I want to see what else is out there, away from wizarding, magical Britain, the muggle side and everything'. He'd invited Harry to meet him at some point 'far away Harry, a proper long distance challenge, an adventure'. It seemed to properly excite and interest Cedric, getting away from the expectations of his parents, his father still seemed to want something of him.
-/
"I wanted to get in contact with Lyle Locke," Harry requested.
"The muggle military liaison?" Amelia enquired curiously.
Harry nodded. "I've been thinking, after my recovery, I didn't see him, the muggle doctors, they took care of all my recovery after..." he trailed off, absently rubbing his chest. "Dying," he continued in a hard tone. "The followup and everything was through them, they all treated it as a secret military operation. But I couldn't really talk about any of it," he paused to sip his tea. "If he hadn't come into things when he did," he rubbed his chest again without thinking. "Who knows what would have happened, maybe I would be dead, Voldemort would be defeated but I don't know."'
Amelia watched him curiously. "What do you want to do when you get back in contact with him Harry?"
Harry looked at her curiously. "Your tone's shifted to 'ministerial'."
She smiled briefly and leaned back into the chair. "The muggle government and their related military have not rescinded the powers they put in place during Voldemort's period of activity. And I do count working with the muggle military against Voldemort as a success, we could not have dealt with Nagini as efficiently as we did without them," she admitted.
Harry closed his eyes in remembrance. "I remember that of course." He'd made the mistake of curiously asking about it and seeing the photos of how that operation was executed.
"There is still active contention over some issues between the Ministry of Magic and Westminster, bare that in mind," she explained calmly.
"I won't exacerbate things," Harry reassured.
-/
He'd been waved through onto the military base where Lyle was waiting to meet him.
Lyle shook Harry's hand and smiled warmly. "Heard you were treated by the army's finest, both yours and my government said I shouldn't get in contact with you, that was a one time thing, you were still a young man."
Harry nodded. "One who died to deal with it."
"There's not many who've experienced it, like that," he paused. "But there's some, secret like, that you can talk to," he offered.
"Military?" Harry wondered.
Lyle nodded. "They've been out in the world, some of 'em get read into the paranormal, the world's not as simple as your ministry makes out. We had to get some who knew for your operation."
"I still want to say thank you, for helping with...killing me," he chuckled. "I said to Amelia, if you hadn't suggested that, then I might be dead, the wizarding option was to battle him wand to wand," Harry finished as he waved his hand around in a wand waving gesture as they turned to walk on.
They had walked on in silence for a short while, the sounds of the military base and their feet on the gravel path the only sounds.
"I just wanted to know if there's anything I can do, to help?" Harry asked after a while of them walking together.
"Help?" Lyle laughed. "You just admitted dying to help..." he trailed off.
Harry nodded. "Just, feel bit aimless, focused on Voldemort and now..." he trailed off with a shrug. "Amelia said the British government's not rescinded the emergency powers that were in place regarding the magical world," he sighed. "Maybe it's a good thing to have something enacted like that. I'd hope it would mean that Voldemort couldn't come to power like he tried, or someone like Dumbledore couldn't act as child placement, judge and everything else."
Lyle looked to him as he spoke.
"Been thinking about it all," Harry sighed again. "Or maybe I should just go off and travel and not think about all of this ever again," he stopped walking and looked around. "It's just...I think about those people who were in those cars in Ireland, and the Death Eaters who did that to them, if I or someone with knowledge and magic hadn't been there, they'd have died or been perilously injured."
"You're far too young to be carrying that sort of worry about the world you're in Harry," Lyle observed. "But let me look into it."
Harry relaxed a little bit.
"Tell me, is it just not having something to do?" Lyle asked curiously.
Harry shrugged. "I guess. I've got all this time, money and no responsibilities, and it feels like I should be doing something. I feel like I need to be doing something. That not doing...it's like I'm letting someone down. That I should be helping in some way."
-/
2 years later...
Harry zipped up his jacket and pulled goggles down over his eyes, he could have cast a warming charm along with several others he'd studied. But as the British Antarctic Territory's official wizard, he still had duties to perform, even if he and everyone was leaving later in the week. And sometimes it was easier with goggles and a jacket than furs and complex spells.
His was a long forgotten position from the early days of exploration of the continent, and his ability to be here came from Operation Tabarin during the second world war, the secret Antarctic expedition, that had mostly been forgotten about by those in the wizarding government.
Amelia and the Ministry didn't object, even if the statute of secrecy was being bent a little bit more, although not much more than it had been in the past.
Everyone who he worked with here knew (vaguely at least) what he was, and what he was here to do. His own thing, mostly. All of it was top secret, but he wasn't the only one engaged in that sort of thing. Everyone had 'operational security' to manage.
But, this was what he wanted. Somewhere away from everything, and more importantly a reason to be here away from everything, he liked that, he enjoyed that.
-/
Harry Potter embraced Cedric in a hug. "Cedric, long time."
Cedric laughed as he let go of Harry. "You disappeared off the face of the Earth Harry!"
"I went on an adventure," Harry said with a laugh. "Was another one to get here," he commented looking around Pinky Point Lookout, South Australia. Until a fortnight ago it had been a coordinates on a map that he'd grabbed out of the library at the Antarctic base.
Cedric laughed. "Come on, I've got a house just a walk down there." He pointed away from the car park.
-/
Harry accepted the bottle of beer, condensation already running down its side as he sipped from it. "Quite a view," he observed looking up at the massive grain silos.
The people he worked with on Deception Island remarked he was being 'one of those weird wizards' opting not for the ship that was to take them back to civilisation, and instead opting to 'find my own way', out across the Antarctic continent.
He knew where he was going, more or less, and leaving apparating directly across...with a few stops here and there would yield a faster passage to here; Ceduna, South Australia, the 'last large town between Australia's middling east and its west' as one of the people he worked with described it to him as.
He'd been without Hedwig during his time in Antarctica, the quarantine requirement along with the extreme distances meant he'd instructed Hedwig to remain with Tonks. She was the person closest to being family who could utilise her. His friends were spread out everywhere in the time since they'd finished school. And Sirius was still...happy enough.
He'd sent letters to his friends, got some back. It was humbling still to have his friends worry so, over his choice of posting, to go to the farthest end of the Earth, quite literally.
But with the Antarctic winter approaching the base would be at minimum occupation, now was a time for him to have some time off.
Cedric laughed. "It's certainly striking, flew in a few days ago."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"In a plane Harry, flew myself; embracing the muggle way of flight, getting that licence was harder than the extended distance apparition licence," Cedric commented shaking his head and took a sip from his beer.
Harry smiled. "Wonder if that makes the controls around apparition overly lax or the muggle requirements overly stringent?"
Cedric gave him a look. "The former. Weren't you telling me your mates on the snow base were amazed at the lack of safety controls in the wizarding world?"
Harry nodded, he had said that and much more in his letters. It had felt like taking a step back in time, sending long letters off, either digitally or when the supply ship came. He daren't apparate to Tierra del Fuego because of the quarantine and everything around keeping the Antarctic clear of anything from the outside world. Although he had been told the processes he could go through, if there was an extreme need. But it felt better, easier even to get into the spirit of the muggles, and not just pop away for whatever reason. There was a control, a stability that sense of regime that was in his life.
"Got a surprise for you, hopefully coming tomorrow," Cedric said pointing out past the grin silos to waters beyond.
Harry looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"They're coming for the silos," Cedric laughed. "Not your inflated ego," he teased.
Harry laughed shaking his head. "Despite what people have thought my ego's never been that Cedric, a quiet life, that's all for me."
"Best disappearing act a wizard's ever done," Cedric continued in jest.
-/
Harry pulled the blonde man into a hug. "Great to see you Draco."
Draco reluctantly accepted the hug from him. "You've gotten all tactile during your ventures into the Antarctic Harry, it's quite an experience," he said stepping back as he straightened out his jacket with a smile.
"I, unlike my husband will accept a hug from the man who defeated-"
Harry pulled Astoria Greengrass-Malfoy into a hug before she could finish.
"Tease," she finished stepping aside.
"You do," Harry countered with a smile.
"Now I have to go and do work, you enjoy yourself husband," Astoria said as she sauntered away from the ship.
Draco gave him a look. "I tried to convince Hermione to come with us, she insisted on making her own arrangements."
Harry turned to Cedric surprised.
"You didn't tell him?" Draco looked to the older man beside Harry.
Cedric shook his head. "I thought it'd be a nice surprise, a get together after not seeing one another for a while."
"Surprises are unpleasant at the best of times Diggory," Draco commented shaking his head. "Since you dropped off the Earth Diggory thought this was an opportune moment for us to meet."
Harry smiled. "That's nice," he looked between them. "Thank you."
-/
Draco wrinkled his nose as he twisted open the wine and poured himself a glass having declined Cedric's offer of beer. "This is quite acceptable."
"The wine or the view?" Harry asked.
Draco looked from him to the silos. "I have come to embrace the muggle industrial might, it has made Greengrass' family's fortunes improve. I'm still learning, but we cannot as Granger likes to comment 'lock ourselves up in castles for the rest of eternity'."
Harry grinned. "I'll have to tell Hermione that you're quoting her."
"Draco knows full well who the superior one is thank you Harry," said a voice of the person in question as she walked out, embracing Harry in a hug.
"Glad you could come," he said into her shirt collar.
"You're the one who's been hiding himself away at the end of the Earth," Hermione countered with a laugh nodding over to Draco. "Draco and I catch up regularly."
"For business reasons, we're hardly going out for luncheons together," Draco countered.
"I'll have a drink if you're offering one Draco," Hermione said as she walked out to look at the view. "Quite a view," she turned around to see that Cedric was offering her a glass. "The one who makes the decisions is off doing so?"
Draco nodded. "Of course," he smirked. "I know when to defer to those more knowledgable."
-/
Several years later...
Harry Potter stood at the grave site of the infamous Albus Dumbledore. He'd actually passed a few months ago, but he'd been working in the Antarctic again, this time with the Australians as part of the UK working together and all that. Word had gotten to him, but he'd not felt he needed to come all the way back for a criminal's burial.
Now that he was here, it was a little bit surreal.
There was no statue, nothing remarkable, just a simple cheap plaque to note who was here.
It was about 15 years since the end of Hogwarts for his friends, would have been 15 years for him as well had the man below the ground not interfered.
-/
Harry laughed at seeing his godson jumping around the garden furniture near the fire pit he'd recently dug. His parents were also outside looking at the grounds his home was sat in. It was just outside Trawsfynydd and a short ways from the decommissioned power plant, the government had wanted their 'official wizard' as he'd come to be known to check the area 'just in case' as part of the decommissioning process. He'd found the land he now owned had probably been charmed at some point around 500 years ago, there was evidence of some ruins some distance from the house.
It wasn't as though anyone else would want to live in the shadow of a former nuclear power station, he didn't worry, he'd seen older and much more dangerous locations in the past few years, this had nothing on those. The shipping container-based house was thoroughly modern, and not what anyone expected the UK's "official wizard" to be living in, but just because there wasn't anything dangerous here, it didn't mean he wanted to disturb things drastically.
Harry levitated a tray with a bottle of wine and some glasses from the kitchen out to the barbecue area. The two adults who were enjoying the sunshine and peace turned around.
"So are you back for a while now Harry?" Remus wondered as he accepted a glass from Harry.
"Got a meeting with the Minister tomorrow," Harry said as he passed a glass to Tonks. "Won't be back down to the Antarctic until our winter, the MOD wants me for some things around the UK and other places, and Cedric asked if I wanted to go for an adventure across Russia," Harry answered. "So still busy."
"Not tempted by the Headmistress' offer?" Remus asked curiously as he sipped the wine.
Harry gestured at the barbecue with his wand; igniting it. "Teaching is not something I want to do, you've got the future of wizarding in your hands, can you see me doing that?"
Remus laughed and nodded. "Yes, I can, but know you won't."
"We can meet for lunch tomorrow if you'd like, I have to run new recruits through their paces," Tonks offered.
"Because you'll need a hearty lunch for that?" Harry wondered.
Tonks nodded eagerly. "Please, anything for a pause from them, bloody eager and exhausting."
-/
"I went to his grave the other day," Harry said as he took a seat at the table opposite the Minister Bones.
She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you'd have nothing of it."
Harry shrugged. "Maybe I just wanted to make sure he's dead."
The Amelia Bones snorted in amusement. "That shouldn't be my official reaction Harry."
Harry shared a laugh. "Course not Amelia, a tasteless jest."
Amelia shook her head, still with an amused expression on her face.
"Westminster must be happy, especially not having to look after him, better use for the funding," Harry commented, returning to more official conversation.
Amelia nodded. "Indeed, there is something to be said for better allocation of resources," she paused.
Harry braced for her to say his position was cancelled. He'd had a meeting like this every few years, it wasn't as though he was paid any more than a comparable muggle position, possibly less. The muggle government was always so thankful that he'd work with them, he'd been pushing Amelia to broaden the statute of secrecy to allow more intergovernmental work to go on. It was almost universally a benefit to both governments.
"On that we're increasing how much you're paid, and broadening who will be recognised as official wizards for the muggle government."
Harry blinked, surprised. "Thought you were about to say you were cancelling me."
Amelia shook her head with a smile. "More money and opportunities Harry, your cynical attitude regarding these facts, has played out."
Harry must've looked surprised.
"I now preside over a Ministry with more money than we've ever had, all but the minor corruption is gone, and we have a population that is broadly happy with their lot," she gave him a look. "And a lot of that is down to you Harry Potter."
Harry looked past her and around the room. "Receiving praise like that makes me feel awkward Amelia," he admitted.
She smiled. "Your contribution can't be overlooked Harry, you did a great service to the wizarding world."
Harry looked at her carefully. "The changes started to happen before I bumped Voldemort off, you could point to the Greengrass company, or Lord Malfoy as two influential families who invested outside of the conventional wizarding systems. Or the Abbotts who have completely rejuvenated the area around the Leakey Cauldron. Individuals like Neville Longbottom whose herbology business your Ministry praised for employing disadvantaged witches and wizards or..." he trailed off. "I could go on Minister, holding me up as a person who's brought about great change," he shook his head. "I was surrounded and assisted by great and good people, I count yourself as one of those."
-/
A few years later...
Harry's partner took his hand. "You can still back out of this, we can be out the door and away."
Harry archly raised an eyebrow.
Harry's partner smiled delighted by Harry's response. "I'm trying to give practical solutions to this situation you've put yourself in."
Harry sighed. "Better go out before they come back here, investigating. Surprise a few people," he looked to the love of his life, "and break a few hearts when they find out I'm happily-"
Harry was cut off. "Partnered."
"No marriage here," Harry promised and grinned. "That'd be too practical or sensible."
"We're none of that Harry," a tone of amusement called to Harry's back playfully.
Harry Potter walked out onto stage leaving his partner in the wings, and stepped up to the lectern looking out into the crowd. Draco was sat off to the side, and Ron was on almost the other side of the room, a couple of other red heads elsewhere in the crowd. Some people weren't here; Cedric had made sure he wasn't even in the same hemisphere for this, off flying around New Zealand. It was all firmly in the past for him. Hermione needed to be up in Scandinavia somewhere being paid an exorbitant amount of money to analyse a micro-magical event which was impacting on weather forecasting or passage of ferries or something.
As he looked around he recognised a lot of people from his Hogwarts year, and several others whom he'd attended Hogwarts with, and the media too of course they'd be here.
Gesturing at a board beside him it revealed a very boring cover page of the Ministry's official record of Voldemort, Dumbledore and the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
"I'm Harry Potter," Harry began by way of introduction. "I've been working with the Ministry and muggle governments for the last 20 or so years. And if you can all make your way through the several lengthy tomes the Ministry has decided to use to describe this period, you will see I was part of this dark period in wizarding life," he paused to sip the glass of water.
-/
Harry wasn't sure why he'd agreed to a question and answer portion, but if they wanted to ask, he would try and answer. Their questions would likely be based on the available evidence or the summary the Ministry released prior to the several-volumes publication he was here to announce. He hoped there wouldn't be too many deep questions.
"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet," announced a woman wearing red glasses as she stood up and looked at him archly.
Harry nodded to her, she still looked the same; only a little bit of evidence of anti-aging potions.
"After you discovered the prophecy you did not think to inform the wizarding world at large about your part in our prophecy?" She challenged.
There was a series of murmurings around the room at the antagonistic tone.
Harry wondered if his significant other could arrange a mortar shelling outside to distract the people in the room.
"Thank you for your question Rita Skeeter," he paused with a smile. "Your espionage during the events in question did not yield you enough of an answer to that question of why a prophecy made concerning me was kept secret?"
She started to say something as the crowd turned around to look at her.
"More seriously," Harry said louder as he looked around the room gathering their attention away from Skeeter. "At the time I didn't really care about anyone finding out, my main concern was for those close to me, my friends and what remained of my family. I also learnt then and have learnt in life that not everyone can know or be informed of everything. There is knowledge that is limited because it's company or business information that you need to do what you do, there is intelligence that governments use to make the right choices," he paused and looked out into the crowd. "And there are secrets, both big and small, personal and population wide. These get revealed when it's safe to do so, there are archive acts or thirty year rules for information to be released for the study of history," he finished as Skeeter sat down.
"Marcus Belby, international wizarding wires," announced a wizard as he stood "Were you involved in deciding when this information was released?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I wasn't. At the time I wanted to put it all behind me, as you will discover," Harry paused to look around the room. "I literally died for the prophecy to fulfil it, and to resolve it, afterwards the Ministry had a lot of house cleaning to do. I moved on with my life, now I'm hoping this will close off that chapter, and the volumes that the Ministry has published on all of it will resolve the lingering questions you all have concerning that period."
-/
Harry Potter laid back onto the soft grass looking up at the night's sky as his partner walked over and laid down beside him. "What are we looking at?"
Harry laughed. "I asked a good friend that a long time ago."
His partner summoned a blanket from near the fire pit. "And what was your answer?"
Harry leaned over and planted a kiss on their lips as the summoned blanket fell over them.
"Now I'm looking at my partner-" Harry started – looking into their eyes.
"Lover," a kiss, almost challenging Harry tantalised his lips. Then rolling away they snuggled back together, both returning to look up at the sky.
"Very wondrous."
"The sky?" Harry challenged playfully turning. "Or you?"
"Yes."
-/
A/N:
I got asked by a few reviewers if Harry will partner up with anyone. I never really like to because I don't think I'm very good at writing romantic scenes, and I often find myself constrained as to who Harry could be paired up with.
With that in mind, I've deliberately written the last scenes with Harry and his partner neutrally to keep it as mysterious as possible.
And as a bit of a challenge.
I don't really have a firm idea of who they are. They are magical – as it's them, not Harry who summons the blanket at the end.
Beyond this, you can infer a few things. Who it isn't based on who's mentioned in the crowd and elsewhere in the chapter. That they might've been involved with the armed forces is a possibility.
But that's it.
Thanks for reading.