PART FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY: THE LONG KISS GOODBYE

A few weeks after the Second Task, Harry and Ginny were sitting comfortably in the Three Broomsticks, sharing a piece of chocolate cake, and holding hands across the table.

"This is good, isn't it?" said Ginny happily as she was savouring another mouthful of cake. "I'm an icing type of person. You?"

"Me too," said Harry. He had stared at her so much that he was almost in trance.

"We should get another plate of just icing," Ginny offered in a playful tone.

Harry was glad that Ginny had not asked him to go to Madam Puddifoot's. It was Easter and he was sure that the little coffee shop was decorated with real-life jumping bunnies dressed in pink trousers and flowery hats or something. He liked the Three Broomsticks much better, and apparently so did Ginny. It was a sane place, and he felt like a sane person; unlike Ron who was so over-enthusiastic to go out with Hermione that Fred and George had actually had to dissuade him to buy a set firecrackers that he wanted to bewitch to spell out 'I love you Hermione' in pink letters in the blue sky.

"But it's romantic," Ron was saying aloud as Fred and George were ushering him out of the shop.

Harry and Ginny had burst out laughing at the exasperated look on Hermione's face.

After two enormous pieces of chocolate cake, they visited every shop, hand in hand, kissing spontaneously every time they felt like it, which was often.

They spent a tremendous amount of time trying out Quidditch gear and looking at the advertising outside the Hog's Head.

"Ok, look!" said Ginny, pointing out a photograph. "Someone has lost a baby Niffler. We should tell Hagrid."

Harry didn't reply but he kissed her instead.

Harry's parents had told the Longbottoms about the fake scar they had put on Neville thirteen years ago. Frank and Alice had looked horrified at first, but after a long afternoon of reflection and discussion, which Harry had skipped, they had decided to keep the masquerade going on and Harry's dad had once again performed the spell that had erased Harry's scar from his forehead.

Harry had taken upon himself to relate the story of the scar to Neville and Ginny, but without any mention of the Dream Book.

"I knew it," said Ginny, wide-eyed, when he finished his last sentence. "I just knew it. There always was something about you, a connection to You-Know-Who, that couldn't really be explained. It all makes so much sense now."

The three of them were sitting close together on the rocks along the lakeshore.

"Are you OK, Nev?" asked Harry, staring at his friend.

Neville had been silent the whole time.

"Yeah, I'm OK," he said finally. "I'm relieved, I guess," he admitted. "Is that alright?"

"Don't worry about it," Harry said reassuringly.

"Do you think You-Know-Who knows?" Ginny asked him, squeezing his hand.

"Well, his snake won't tell him," Harry replied with a surge of pride.

His dad had cut the snake's head clean using Godric Gryffindor's sword which had strangely fallen out of the Sorting Hat. The event had resulted in his telling his mother and father about his second year at Hogwarts and how he had killed the Basilisk. After that, his parents had wanted to know about this first year, and third year, and so on until he had been too tired to speak and had fallen asleep on his father's bed in the teachers' wing of the castle.

"So You-Know-Who is not really back, is he?" asked Neville, looking slightly nervous and apprehensive.

"He's only half formed," Harry explained patiently for what he felt like the hundredth time. "He's not human yet."

All three of them fell silent. The Durmstrang ship was rocking gently on the Black Lake in front of them. Many small boats could be seen drifting peacefully towards it. Viktor Krum and Elisa Lord waved at them from the distance and Krum almost fell out of the boat. The next moment, the giant squid flipped Karkaroff's little craft over and Hagrid had to rescue the Durmstrang Headmaster and pull him out of the water. Harry, Neville and Ginny were rather happy to see the Durmstrang Headmaster humiliated. And it was also very funny to see Hagrid pull up the Headmaster by the collar. They had a very good time telling the story to all of the other Gryffindors.

They did not speak about Voldemort again.

Harry found that the Triwizard Tournament was an enjoyable event after all. Neville was well prepared and looked more confident in front of the huge maze than he had done in any of the previous tasks. Harry and Ginny chose a seat among the other Gryffindors. Hermione and Ron came to join them in the stands. Ron had written 'Nev' in red letters on his forehead.

Fleur Delacour was the first champion to use the red sparks to be pulled out of the maze. She looked so happy to get away from it that Harry was not sorry at all for her. Her little sister Gabrielle ran towards her the moment that she landed back on the stadium and Fleur hugged her tenderly. Moments later, she was brushing the dirt off her uniform with her wand and she hardly seemed to care about anything else besides the fact that it was all over.

Viktor Krum touched the Triwizard Cup first. He reappeared at the beginning of the maze holding it high over his head. The Durmstrang students burst into a large chorus and their cheerfulness was so contagious that most Hogwarts students started to sing as well although none of them knew the words. Fred and George were teasing Ron by singing "Viktor I love you, Viktor I do" like they had done at the World Cup.

While they were singing, Neville's red sparks were seen flying very close to the center of the maze. He arrived a moment later on a broomstick and accompanied by Professor McGonnagal. Neville looked absolutely delighted with his performance. He shouted at Harry the minute he saw him.

"I almost did it, Harry! I was looking at the cup, and then Krum showed up out of nowhere. I saw him touch it, but I couldn't outrun him. I was stuck in Devil's Snare. See?"

He pointed at his legs. Sure enough, there was a thick black root tied to his ankle.

"You should have seen me nail that Boggart, Harry!"

But Harry couldn't hear anymore. The Hogwarts song was rising unto the air. There was so much cheers and applause that it was not possible to hear any kind of normal speech. Anyway, it didn't matter because Ginny was kissing him passionately and he was too occupied with kissing her back to be concerned with anything else.

Harry's memory of the closing ceremony of the Triwizard Tournament was very dark and gloomy because, obviously, it had been a formal procedure in the memory of Cedric Diggory. He didn't really expect any sort of entertainment. Therefore, he was very pleased to see the Weird Sisters return again for the celebration and announcement of the Triwizard Champion: Viktor Krum. Dumbledore made a short and lively speech about the importance of friendship and bravery in the face of danger, and the ceremony ended with the Weird Sisters' version of 'We are the Champions' which, Harry was glad to notice, every student knew, even the ones that came from wizard families.

For the after-party, Hagrid had set up a fire near his hut and all the students were invited to gather there for an evening of dancing and singing. Harry only had eyes for Ginny that night and danced every possible dance with her. He also spent time with Ron and Hermione, Viktor and Elisa, and also Neville who was having quite a good time with a blond and funny-looking girl who Ginny introduced as Luna Lovegood. Once or twice, he saw his parents watch him from the distance, but he didn't mind.

Up until now, this was the best night in his life.

The days started to go by very fast after the Third Task. The exams were over. The school year was drawing to an end. Harry noticed that his parents were steadily growing remote and lost in thought. He tried to ignore it as much as he could, but it was dawning on him as well. He didn't want to brood. His plan had been to enjoy every remaining day of this life. It was hard not to think about what was coming ahead, but he was making it a point not to talk about his fears to his parents; they had enough to cope with as it was.

He had not spoken to his parents about the deal he had made with Leo the Dragon, mostly because it didn't include them, and also because Harry was not sure what it meant.

As the last day of school drew nearer, he tried to spend as much time as he could with Ginny and his parents, which didn't leave much time for anyone else. Thankfully, Neville had found a new friend in Luna Lovegood and therefore Harry didn't feel too guilty for not including him so much anymore. He even wondered if he had not invented Luna somewhere along the way. Every evening, he had diner with his parents when they enjoyed long and animated chats, sometimes accompanied by Sirius or even Dumbledore, sometimes just the three of them. Twice, his parents invited Ginny to join them for diner, and that was very agreeable as well.

The last day of school was a very warm day with blue sky and hardly any wind. Harry was leaning on a tree trunk and Ginny had laid down her head on his lap. She had asked him a couple of times what were his plans for this summer, but Harry had only made vague replies. He didn't have the heart to talk about things that could happen later than the present moment.

"I love you," he said quite suddenly. They hadn't been talking for a while, just staring at the scenery.

"I love you too," she said warmly, smiling up at him.

"You two lovebirds ready for some Quidditch?" a cheerful voice unexpectedly said from behind them.

Harry turned around to see his parents and a whole bunch of other people standing a few feet away. There was Viktor and Elisa, Ron and Hermione, Sirius and Audrey, and the entire Gryffindor team all dressed in Quidditch scarlet and gold uniforms. Even Harry's parents were wearing scarlet cloaks. Everyone present was holding a broom.

"Heard you're not a bad Quidditch player," said Harry's dad, beaming. "Which position?"

"Seeker," Harry responded, jumping up unto his feet and helping Ginny to get up as well.

"Excellent," said Ron happily. "Here, this is yours."

He took the broomstick that Hermione was holding and handed it to Harry. It was indeed the broom that Harry's father had given him for Christmas.

Harry's mom came closer to him, presenting him with some Quidditch gear.

"Those are your father's," she said as he was putting on the gloves. They fitted him perfectly.

"Do you have a broom for me?" Ginny asked, looking shyly at Harry's parents.

It was the cue that Audrey Larochelle was waiting for to step forward.

"'Ere, take zis," she said, holding out a Nimbus Two Thousand. "I can't play in zis dress," she quickly explained. She was wearing a rather short off-white dress and high heals.

"Shall we?" said Sirius, clapping Harry on the back.

The whole group started to make its way towards the Quidditch pitch. Several students noticed that something entertaining was about to happen and the word was very speedily spread out to the rest of the school. The seats were half filled when Harry and the rest of the people with him walked into the stadium.

His father divided the group into two teams and named them. Harry was the Seeker for the 'Lightening Bolts' and Krum was Seeker for the 'Phoenixes'. Harry's parents were Chasers on his team and the trio was completed by Ginny. Ron was Keeper on Harry's team as well. Hermione was to be the referee.

"Are you really good?" Krum asked to Harry's ears.

"You'll see," Harry replied furtively.

On Hermione's signal, they all kicked the ground and zoomed into the air. As always, Harry took a moment to fully appreciate the freedom of flying. He then followed Krum high above the other players, but not before throwing a loving glance at Ginny who answered him with a wonderful smile.

Hermione blew the whistle and the Snitch was released. The older and more experienced players made it the fastest game of Quidditch that Harry had ever participated in. Because it was a friendly match, there was also a great deal of joking around. Hermione almost lost her temper when Fred and George directed various hexes at Sirius, causing the tail of his broomstick to catch fire.

"Aqua Erupto!" said Harry's mom as she was flying pass Sirius. The fire was instantly put out, but she made a point of making sure that Sirius was more than a little wet.

"Can we have a clean game, please?" Hermione was shouting below.

A moment later, the Quaffle was flying in Harry's direction. He caught it and threw it instantly at Ginny, but Krum, it seemed, had spotted the Snitch in the meantime. Harry soared into the air after him, tailing him as best as he could. He kept reminding himself that Krum was the best Seeker in the world, but still he was catching up fast with the Bulgarian. They were very high into the blue sky when Krum suddenly wheeled downwards into a vertical dive.

"He hasn't seen the Snitch," thought Harry. "It's the Wronski Feint."

Harry dived in after him. They were side by side. Krum looked almost surprised that Harry could keep up with him. He pulled up just in time to avoid hitting the ground. Harry did the same. Krum winked at him and soared high into the sky again, searching for the tiny Snitch.

"You're more than just good," said Harry's dad, pulling his broom to a stop at Harry's side.

"I made the Gryffindor team in my first year," said Harry, blushing. "It's a family trait."

As he said this, his mother zoomed around them. She was very wet but she didn't seem to care.

"What are you two doing? We're loosing seventy to sixty, boys," she said joyfully. "Harry, you had better catch that Snitch before Krum does."

And she was off again. Ginny had the Quaffle and was flying straight at the opposing goalposts.

"Well, you heard your mother," said Harry's dad, pulling his broomstick upwards as well.

Harry wheeled around and soared into the sky again. Krum was circling on the outskirt of the pitch. Harry was about to set out after Krum when something caught his eyes. High above his head, a long, white, undulating figure was also surveying the pitch.

Harry threw one last look at the game below him. Ginny had scored and Harry's parents were now chasing the Quaffle and trying to take it back fro Sirius. Fred and George were aiming to send a Bludger at Ron.

Harry looked up again. "Leo is waiting for me," he thought. "It's time."

Then, pulling the broomstick upwards again, he soared higher and higher, until the players in the pitch below were blurry scarlet outlines.

The dragon was waiting for him. Harry pulled his broom on top of Leo and let himself drop onto the creature's back. When he released the broomstick, it went zooming freely unto the horizon and Harry lost sight of it.

"Where are we going," he asked Leo.

"I cannot tell you," said the dragon, "because I do not know."

Harry glanced at the ground for the last time.

"Will I see them again?" he enquired.

A tear drop fell on his hand. He rapidly wiped it clean with his sleeve.

"In dreams, perhaps," was the dragon's reply. "In dreams."

The End

Author's note:

It's my first completed fanfic. Yeah ! I wanted to leave the ending opened. If anyone wants to pick up on it, feel free, but don't forget to give credit.

I love reviews. I'm opened to any comments. Drop me a note. It's always much appreciated.

Now get outside and enjoy the summer.

HighEmpress

June 16th, 2006. Québec, Canada.