Author's Note:
I know it's been quite a while since I promised to post the Epilogue. Would it suffice that I tell you guys I've been dead busy in work? With a new job, the new responsibilities were too much to look around to. Anyway, here is the last part of this fic. I don't think I can write a sequel, but I promise few one-shots, that would be companion to this fic. I'm also re-writing Nocturnal Soul as an H/G fic. So, you can look forward to that along Intervallum, which I'll start posting soon. I have two more one-shots on the pipeline. So, I don't think there will be a dull moment soon when it comes to my writing. Stay hooked people! There will be more to read VERY SOON! HBP… Well, who knew so many of my predictions would turn out right? Still, many things didn't came true, and that only proves JKR's brilliance. She gets us stumped all right. :) I'm not going to post my review of the book hre, because it may still be a spoiler for some people, BUT if you want, you can always go to me online journal and check that out. Also, don't forget to check out the Dumbledore site I've posted the link to in my BIO. It's a very indulging read, I can assure you! Thanks to Omair, greeneyes, yorkvillebird, kapiola, Mahjabeen, jessa faerie, Moon of Amethyst, Buck, Missy May, Macy, Akanksha, thephantom114, Seirra, Staci, Astrid, Koky, Silver Phoenix Fire, Kazuki Fuuchoin and Marine Potterfan for the wonderful reviews and ovation. You all have made my writing experience sooo enjoyable that you can't possibly imagine. Hope you all like the Epilogue. It's not that big, as the trend goes. Omair, Well, Thankies dear bro. Coming from the Potter-bombing person himself, this is definitely something. And no KFC for you –wags finger- I'm not going to write a Post-HBP fic either. Maybe one-shots but that's it. Green eyes, Thanks, m'dear! I wrote that chapter with a funny tinge because I knew the real book wouldn't end like that—not in a million years! Thanks for being patient and always waiting for the update! Yorkvillebird, Thanks for all your support. Alas, no sequel however. One-shots, definitely! kapiola, Thank you, my dear! You humble me. Mahjabeen, Thanks for the truck-load of wishes! I hope your cousin got through the fic. ;) And as you already know, I'm of course considering writing my original stuff. And I WILL when the time comes. I'm learning a lot through my writing, and others' writing as well. You can say, I'm still in the process of learning but I'll get there. ;) And you'll get a free copy! Heh! Also, thanks for nudging me about this whenever we talked on msn. Now, its time you migrate to other fics of mine. hintnudgehint jessa faerie, Thanks! So, how did you find it? Moon of Amethyst, You are right about the scar! I totally imagined him all grown up and hunky girlish giggle You are welcome, my dear! I particularly enjoyed your two-lined chapter of your Frank/Lily fic. Now, what can you say about JKR, huh! Buck, It's good to have you here, as you've been reading it since it first got posted, so I feel a little proud that people are still following it. Thanks for dropping by. Missy May, I'm having a sad elated moment right now. It's officially finished! Thanks for all your reviews and dropping by. Macy, Thank you, m'dear. I've enjoyed reading your reviews. Akanksha, Thanks for always being there. About the mysteries; well, first, the other two scroll powers are not with Voldemort but Ginny. If you remember, when the scrolls were fusing, Voldemort was not near it. So, the forces fused with Harry and Ginny rather than with Harry and Voldemort. In this story, Voldie has a backlog of powers, and Harry would be able to vanquish him finally. I don't think I have the time to write a 7th year fic, but there will always be one-shots and other shippy fics. thephantom114, bows Thank you! I am humbled. I hope this was a good end for you. Seirra, Thank you! Your words meant a lot. With HBP many questions were answered but there are even more to find answers to now. Thanks, for always returning to the fic. You're great! Staci, huggles back Awwww! Thank you! And there will be more, of course. I hope you didn't have to wait too long. :) Astrid, muhawahahaa! Well, I feel sorry for Draco now! And have you written all those fics in your profile? I'm curious. O.o Thanks for dropping by, hon, mucho appreciate it! Koky, This is very well put! Thanks for that. Because it meant a LOT to me. This fic has been a great ride for me. More so the reviews I got. There will be shorties, definitely! Silver Phoenix Fire, Thanks! I love Gred and Forge, so you can expect I had loads of fun writing them. This is how I saw them at the end of year 6, scaring the Dursleys with Harry's soon to be regained powers. Kazuki Fuuchoin, Thanks for dropping by! Have you come from some forums? It's lovely to get the old readers back. Hope you like the epilogue! MarinePotterfan. I know what you mean, and even when I'd love to write a companion sequel, right now, I don't have the time to write it. RL is becoming time-consuming, and I'll be doing the occasional writing now. Not the continuous one I used to do. BUT, I would never leave writing. Rest assured. OK, some warnings: As you all know, Epilogues are suppose to be short, and this one IS. I was aware of the tragedies that happened in HBP before it even got released. But, I'm a little biased when it comes to the version I'm writing. I want to see Harry strong and upright, and contented, NOT stranded, lonely and resolved. This is how I pictured him at the juncture of his fate.
- Epilogue -
The journey back to Privet Drive was nothing but dull. Harry sat alone in the back seat—seeing, not seeing at all, the numerous buildings zipping past his window.
Vernon Dursley tried his best to keep his beady eyes on the road, along peering at Harry through the review-mirror. It seemed as though he was oscillating on the verge of saying something, but couldn't, as his eyes continuously kept on riveting at his extended scar. He looked madder—something Harry thought impossible after the Dementor incident last year.
Needless to say, Hedwig tried her best to behave; still, she kept on clicking her beak on her cage once every five minute as if to warn the Dursleys that they shouldn't try anything rash—much to Harry's amusement.
Harry felt detached somehow… a small part of him wanted to lash out at them, just for the sake of it. He was sick and tired of them staring at his scar as if it was some rude word stretched across his face—reminding him of Marietta Edgecombe—evaporating his ownefforts of soothing. The reasonable side of him however, told him to take it easy. He heeded the latter.
Finally reaching number four, Harry shot out of the car and stood near the car bonnet so that he could take out his trunk. He looked around at the house to see an upstairs curtain drawn. He knew that it could be none other than his cousin, Dudley.
As if not noticing anything at all, Harry grasped the handle of his trunk, just as his uncle opened the bonnet. Vernon Dursley grumbled expletives at him as he heaved his trunk—because his hand got snagged from it—not that, it was intentional.
Harry pretended not to hear and hurried up the driveway and the flight of stairs to his room. He also pretended not to notice the saucer shaped eyes of Dudley peeking from his room. He had faced enough gawping this year to last the entire summer vacations.
He shut the door with a loud bang—expressing quite loudly that he wanted to be left alone. He heaved a sigh and leaned on his door to catch his breath, which was out and about because of hauling his trunk with one hand and clutching Hedwig's cage with the other. He let Hedwig out, and she nipped his ear affectionately before taking flight to catch some supper.
Harry sat on his bed and stared at the familiar room. Nothing had changed, except for the unusual cleanliness—a sign of his aunt's visit. The usual Gryffindor and Quidditch posters, his discarded quills and parchments were lying where he had left them.
While emptying his robe pockets from the sweets shoved by the twins, he found a crumpled parchment. He stared at it, knowing fully that he had never seen it before. However, a grin split his face after reading it. He carefully splayed it and safely tucked it beneath the clock he had once repaired himself.
Take care of yourself, Harry! And be careful.
See you soon.
Love
- Ginny
A warm feeling spread in his chest as he sighed into his hands, cupping them over his face. A wave of exhaustion however, soon followed, taking over his body. It seemed as if the days he had lost in Caeli were finally making their presence felt. He felt overjoyed; still, nonplussed by the things that had happed this year at Hogwarts and a world beyond.
A buzz started to fill his head, comprising of the voices of this year. And without even knowing what he was doing, he was sinking into his pillow, not even aware that his feet would feel sore afterwards with his trainers still on. He sank into the bed as if diving into a lake, not conscious of where he was and what he was doing.
-x-
I can't still be at Caeli, can I?
This was the first thing that came to his mind when his groggy eyes focused on the hazy luminescent hands of the bedside clock, its hands pointing to quarter to four.
He blinked in the surrounding darkness of the night, taking time in registering that it was past midnight, and he had spent more than ten hours in bed. When he finally opened his eyes fully, he was amazed to note that not only he felt light and refreshed, but wide awake as if someone had nudged him to do so.
He got up and got rid of his trainers, twiddling his toes, and changed into pyjamas. With the moonlight sweeping through his window he registered that Hedwig's cage was still empty. The reason of her absence made his stomach growl with hunger. He looked at the empty space near the dog flap of his door (installed few years ago to keep him locked into his room). So, his said relatives were so upset at his current predicament that his Aunt had forgotten to give him dinner, or maybe it was his uncle's doing.
Oh well… Harry sighed, and was just about to jump back to his bed when from the corner of his eye, he noticed something unexpected. In a flash—as if his body was working out of habit rather than impulse—he grasped his wand from his bedside and made for his trunk, the rim of which was bathed with a glow from inside.
He stepped up towards the end of his bed, his wand preceding his every move. He realized that he wasn't allowed to use magic for another month, but if something perilous had been smuggled into his trunk, he had no other choice.
What could it be? he thought disturbingly, as he stared at the hinges of the trunk which were giving off soft light, as if trapping a small sun inside.
He was aware of the fact that it could be anything; he had enough experience with magical objects, not to take such a phenomenon lightly. However, he didn't want to wait to discover what it was either.
Heart hammering in his chest, Harry backed away from the trunk and pulled its lid off, so that the light spilled into the room, giving an eerie look to everything. He craned his neck above the opened lid to see the source of light.
What he saw caused his heart rate to speed, and his mouth to gape.
This can't be!
Sirius's diary had mysteriously traveled up the piles of his clothes and books. And the mystery didn't end there. The diary was open, and was the source of the grayish light spilling into the room. It was as though it was the preparation for enticing him to take hold of it and tap it with his wand.
Many voices ran through his head.
"Someone could have tampered with it, Harry," Hermione's voice of reason warned.
"It could be a trap… I dunno, Harry," Ron's vague explanation hovered for a while.
"You should be cautious, Harry," Ginny spoke to him softly.
"That I already am," Harry said to the empty room—justifying the voices inside his head.
This is Sirius's diary after all. It was never made to harm me; Sirius told me himself. He looked down and picked the diary up gently, as if afraid that it would jolt him with a powerful shock—but nothing such happened. The diary felt to him as before, with no apparent changes.
So, why is it glowing then? his mind registered quite a glaring fact. But, a feeling in his gut told him that he should tap the wand. And so he did.
A familiar sensation gripped him. The surrounding walls of his room dissolved to a very familiar one—of number twelve, Grimmauld Place.
"Hello, Harry," a familiar voice echoed from behind.
Harry spun on his feet so fast that he staggered to a stop just a step before. Staring right at him was his godfather, Sirius Black.
"Sirius," he said breathlessly, as his eyes bulged in surprise. "How—how—?"
"All in good time." Sirius gave him a winning smile.
"How are you here? You told me, I could never talk to you directly again… Er… So how—"
"I lied, Harry," Sirius said wincing, while Harry's face set with perplexed anger.
"WHAT!"
"I'm sorry, Harry." Sirius stood up from the rocking chair he was sitting on. "I knew if I didn't discourage you properly you would've kept on fiddling with the diary—"
"Are you saying, I could've summoned you or something?" Harry stared on, shocked—looking betrayed.
"No! You couldn't have… What I meant was, if I hadn't made clear that you can't visit me, you would've kept on visiting this diary on and off just to find some new quirk."
"Is there one?" He didn't want to sound hopeful, even though talking to his godfather was making him very much contented, even if it had come as a shock.
"Well…" Sirius looked at him seriously. "There is one thing… I reckoned, you would like to talk to me when you returned to the Dursleys, I thought to make it a yearly event so that you could talk to someone… I know it's not the real me, but my shadow… I hoped that you'd feel all right talking about the gone year openly to someone rather than staying silent all summer in your Aunt's house."
"You could have tried me…" Even after trying his best to stay angry, Harry couldn't. This was just too good to be true. It was as if he had gotten his birthday present early, and he did not want to waste it with accusations.
"So, what happened?" Sirius tried his winning smile, for which he got a grin back. Harry could positively feel him relax.
"Loads!" And before he knew it, Harry launched into a long story. How he connected with his mother, and found out more about his parents and their adventures together. It was as if time passed swiftly and he didn't even feel it. He recounted Caeli events and about the mysterious appearance of a Drifter named, Caradoc Dearborn.
"Rad! He's alive?" Sirius exclaimed, while Harry launched into another tale of how Caradoc was sent to this time from another world by the otherworldly Ulterian Mages. He then moved on to the Vita Scrolls, how he found two of them, and his and Ginny's final battle with Voldemort.
"Amazing…" Sirius looked at him proudly. "You gave your life for a good cause, and the bond of debt saved you! Ingenious…"
"I didn't know what I was doing… I just went on as if I was meant to do it…"
Sirius looked hard at him, as if trying to derive his true intentions. "You like Ginny, don't you?"
"Yeah…" Harry knew it was no use hiding it from Sirius.
"Clever girl, that one." Sirius nodded his head in approval. "You're at it like James. He got together with Lily at the end of his sixth-year too."
They both smiled nostalgically, remembering their mutual loved ones. As if distracted, Sirius looked at something behind him and frowned. Harry spun around to see an old clock showing eight o'clock.
"It's time," Sirius said, looking forlornly at Harry.
"Already?" Harry didn't hide his disappointment. It felt to him, as if he had just started talking to him.
"It's been four hours, Harry." Sirius grasped his shoulder, while smiling at him. "This is not the end, though. I'll meet you next year, same time same date."
"I can't promise I'll be here, Sirius," Harry said, not with regret but with the air of a man who had accepted what was to come. "I don't think I would be returning to Privet Drive of all places, even if I survived…."
"Oh… I…" Sirius looked at him troublingly. It was as if he was struggling to say something but couldn't make up his mind about it.
"I'm not afraid." Harry shook his head decidedly. He had realized in his train journey back that there was no looking back from the fate that awaited him. Not at all. The moment of clarity that he had experienced after getting hit with the killing curse had been nothing but revelation for him. He knew perfectly that he wouldn't be here forever. That there was end to everything, and he had been prophesized to cause the end of the overlord who had spread so much hate and fear in the wizarding world that it's needed to be stopped. Even if he had to give his own life for it….
"I know one thing for sure, Harry," Sirius's voice broke his reverie. "If somebody has to do it; it better be you."
Coming from Sirius, this was sure something. Harry stared at his eyes, which were gleaming knowingly.
"I hope you kick his forking bottom!"
And as Harry's mouth split to let out the bursting laughter, the walls of Grimmauld Place started melting away to his own room at number four.
"I'll see you soon, wherever you are!"
His laughter died with the loss of pressure from Sirius's hand that had been grabbing his shoulder.
Still, a smile remained behind as he sat on his bed and stared at the early morning's orange sun. His heart felt light, as if a large burden had been lifted. Suddenly, reliving the last year gave him an insight on things he hadn't bothered to contemplate. He knew what he had to do, and this acceptance was the first step to understand how he ought to do it. He knew that the Scroll powers buried in his body would help him accomplish his goals.
And as the sun slowly climbed high in the sky, a faint hope flickered in his heart, if he lived to see the coming year, he would at least get to talk to Sirius again; the last remnant of his parents and father figure.
The thought made him smile contentedly as he stretched on his bed, thinking about the possibilities his survival would bring. A new life with the people he loved and admired. A career he could easily fall on.
As the future swirled in his mind, drowsiness took over again. And he fell to a very deep sleep.
-x-X- THE END -X-x-
This was for all my faithful readers who have followed this fic so regularly. Thank You all! And to the beloved memory of Sirius.
Post your final words about this fic, of course!