Disclaimer: Not mine, even if I've secretly wished it was. lol!

A/N: Oh, I'm so sad! This story is finally over… I don't really know what to say, except for a big THANK YOU! Thanks to all the people that read and reviewed this story so far, to all the people that put this story in their Favourite and Alert Lists and in their C2s. You all really made my day with your lovely comments and your caring presence. And naturally, if you want to keep on reviewing this story (even if it's finished), just do it. I'll be me than eager to read and answer your reviews, when they'll need an answer. Well, as always my ramblings about my LJ have been completely ignored, but never mind (I know that sometime is quite boring to listen to my blah, blah, blah…). Okay, so, once again. I hope that you'll like this chapter and how it ends this story.

To Lyndsie Fenele: Thanks for your great help. I really appreciated it. Thank you!

Welcome Back

Harry was wakened by something that he hadn't heard in the last two days: a deep and continuous snore. He opened his eyes and found himself in his four-poster bed. He reached for his glasses on the bedside table and put them on, then stared at Ron who was peacefully sleeping in his bed, despite the fact that the sun was already quite high in the sky.

He tried to remember how he'd got to his bed, but his last thought was that he was holding Hermione in his arms on the top of the Astronomy Tower. He smiled as he remembered how her hair tickled his cheek and her fingers brushed against his own.

Ron let out a louder snore, snapping Harry out of his thoughts about Hermione. He pulled the covers away and sat up. Searching for his slippers under his bed he put them on and stepped towards Ron's bed.

"Ron," he called him. "Ron."

Ron groaned and turned on the other side.

"Ron!" Harry called him again, shaking his arm.

"Another minute, Mum," mumbled Ron.

"Ron! Wake up!" said Harry, raising his voice.

Ron opened his eyes and looked at Harry. "Bloody hell, Harry," he muttered in a still very sleepy voice. "What's the time?"

"I don't know," said Harry. He picked up his watch from his bedside table and checked the hour. "Ron! It's a quarter to nine!" cried Harry, grinning.

Ron buried his head back into the pillow. "Oh, bloody hell, I'll never manage to have breakfast before Transfiguration," muttered Ron.

"What?" asked Harry, grinning. "What did you say?"

"I said that I'll never be able to have a proper breakfast before Transfiguration," repeated Ron.

"Transfiguration?" asked Harry, almost laughing.

"Yeah," muttered Ron, looking at Harry with his eyebrows raised. "What are you laughing for? I'm sure that you won't get anything either."

But Harry wasn't listening to him anymore, he was laughing hard, so hard that Neville, who was in the bathroom, peeked into the dorm to see what was happening. Between the laughter, Harry brought a hand to his forehead and felt the familiar shape of his scar.

Ron looked at Neville, who raised an eyebrow to him, but neither could understand what was wrong with Harry.

"Harry, mate, is everything alright?" asked Ron, putting his bare feet on the floor.

As an answer, Harry laughed harder. Then something seemed to occur to his memory and he stopped as suddenly as he'd started. "Hermione!" he exclaimed.

"Hermione, what?" asked Ron, starting to unbutton his pyjama.

"Hermione!" repeated Harry, patting his forehead. "I have to talk to her. I have to tell her that I'm sorry."

"You are sorry for what?" asked Ron. "Are you talking riddles this morning?"

"Ron, who's the Chosen One?" asked Harry suddenly, seizing Ron's arms.

Ron caught Harry's wrists and freed himself from Harry, looking at him with his eyebrows raised. "You are, Harry. But what's wrong with you?"

Harry grinned broadly. "Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong," he started to sing and walk in circles around the dorm.

"Harry, what did you have yesterday for dinner?" asked Ron, trying to shout over Harry's voice. "Something that came from Slughorn's office?"

"Slughorn?" asked Harry, stopping another time. "Sure, there's Slughorn, not Snape."

"Harry, you're scaring me, is everything alright?" Ron asked again.

"Sure, Ron," answered Harry, smiling. "I've never been better."

Ron shrugged. "Okay, if you say so," he said. "Are you ready? We are so late that, if we wait another bit, I think that Professor McGonagall won't even notice our delay since she'll think that we are ready for tomorrow's lesson."

"I'll be ready in a minute," said Harry. He put on his robes in less then two minutes, and before Ron could even see him Harry had already opened the dorm's door and was now running down the stairs.

He jumped the last two stairs and bumped into someone that was running down the girls' dorm stairs.

"Ouch!" cried the girl, falling on her back.

"I'm sorry," said Harry, stretching out a hand to help her up. "Ginny?"

"Harry!" Ginny took his hand and stood on her feet. "Late for breakfast, are we?" she asked.

"What about you?" he asked back.

"I've only forgotten a book," she replied, smirking.

Harry loved her smirk and loved the fact that she had just called him Harry, and that she hadn't pointed her wand towards his face. Without even thinking, Harry threw himself towards her and hugged her tightly.

"Whoa, Harry," said Ginny, hugging him back. "I'm happy to see you too."

Harry dug his nose in her hair and breathed her scent. He just had to remember who he really loved, before he saw Hermione. He didn't need to upset Ron, throwing himself towards their best friend.

"Hey, what's happening here?" asked Ron, entering the common room.

"Piss off, Ron," muttered Ginny, leaning against Harry's shoulder. When Harry let her go, she smiled softly. "Hey, Harry, what happened? Until yesterday you didn't even want me to stay around you; too dangerous even holding your hand, you said."

Harry shrugged. "Something made me change my mind. I don't want to keep my friends away from me anymore. Where's Hermione?" he asked.

"Is she going to get a hug too?" asked Ginny, half seriously and half jokingly.

Harry would have liked to answer 'maybe even something more', but he felt that it was better if he didn't open his mouth. He checked his watch and knew that he wouldn't be able to talk to her before the first lesson, but at least they had it together.

"I think she's already gone to her class," sentenced Ginny. "It's pretty late and she's never been late for anything."

"Did she look strange?" asked Harry, without even listening to her; he already knew all these things.

"Strange?" asked Ginny. "Not as much as you this morning," she continued, laughing.

Harry smiled too. "See you later, sunray," he said to Ginny, while he walked towards the portrait hole.

"Sunray?" he heard her say in an astonished voice.

As he walked down the corridor, Harry heard Ron's quick steps behind him, and both ran towards the Transfiguration classroom.

When they reached the classroom, Professor McGonagall had already started the lesson. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, thank you for joining us," she said.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Professor McGonagall anticipated him. "The excuse that you got lost on your way here is a pretty old one, Mr. Weasley, now take your seat," she said firmly.

Ron darkened. "I wasn't going to tell her that we got lost. And bloody hell, what a good memory she has," he muttered to Harry while they sat down in a row of desks behind Hermione, who was sitting between Seamus and Hannah.

Professor McGonagall started to talk about human transformation into inanimate things, a very complex subject, but Harry's concentration disappeared after about thirty seconds, since Ron's rumbling stomach and the sight of Hermione were keeping his mind busy with other thoughts.

He was snapped out only when Professor McGonagall walked between the desks in the attempt of collecting their essays. He had to confess that he hadn't one, causing Professor McGonagall to give him a detention and to scowl at the fact that he was simply smiling. Hermione didn't even turn her head to look at him while Professor McGonagall lectured Harry in front of all his classmates; evidently she had been waiting for that to happen.

When the lesson was finally over, Harry shoved all his belongings into his school bag and, ignoring Ron, who was begging for a tour of the Great Hall for some food, he walked towards Hermione.

She was standing next to her desk, carefully placing everything into her own bag when he approached her. She looked at him and couldn't help smirking a little. "Problems with your Transfiguration essay?" she asked sarcastically.

Harry didn't answer. He pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly, even more tightly than Ginny. He glanced over at Ron and saw that he was looking at them in amazement.

"Harry?" she called to him, flabbergasted.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he whispered into her ear.

She smiled. "It's okay," she whispered back, patting his back. "I know that you are upset, and that this stay at Hogwarts is driving you mad because you would like to be out there fighting Voldemort."

"No," he said, releasing her from his hug. "I've been horrible to you and you were right about everything."

"W-was I?" she asked, looking at him, surprised. He thought it was because he couldn't remember the last time that he'd admitted that she was right, maybe because it had never happened.

Harry took her face in his hands, and closed his eyes. He came closer to her and placed his lips on her forehead, kissing her tenderly.

When he let her go, she was looking at him with her eyes wide. "Are you sure that you are all right?" asked Hermione.

"It's what Ginny and I asked him," broke in Ron. He walked towards them and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, looking at her. "He hugged Ginny, he hugs you," said Ron amused. "Luckily he hasn't hugged me, yet."

Harry let go of Hermione's face and smiled. "I'm just happy to see you all, is that so difficult to understand?"

Hermione shrugged. "No, I'm happy to see you too," she said, and Harry felt something like butterflies in his stomach. "Even if sometimes you can get on my nerves more quickly than anybody else." She paused for a minute, looking at Ron. "Except for Ron, though."

Ron pouted. "What do you mean?"

Hermione shrugged again. "Merlin's beard, I'm late for Arithmancy!" she exclaimed, walking quickly out of the classroom.

Harry followed her with his gaze until she disappeared. Ron's belly rumbled another time and Harry started to feel an emptiness in his own stomach as well.

While they walked towards the Great Hall, Ron turned to look at him. "You know, mate, for a moment there, I really thought that you were going to kiss Hermione on her lips," he said nervously, faking laughter.

Harry didn't answer. For a moment he had thought that too.

When they reached the first floor, Harry's attention was dragged towards classroom eleven, as if someone was mentally calling him.

"Ron, I'll be right there," he said to his friend.

"Okay, but where are you going?"

Harry ignored him and entered into classroom eleven. Firenze was there, staring at the door as if he knew that he would enter at any time. "Are you happy, young Harry Potter?" he asked slowly.

Harry nodded. "But I didn't make the wish. How could everything be back to normal?"

"The stars don't need us to make things happen," said the Centaur. "They don't listen to us. If they want a thing to take place, they'll do that, but humans can't influence their work."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Do you mean that when the moon exited the Charioteer, things came back to normal?" he asked.

Firenze looked at the ceiling. "In the stars there isn't written what you have to do. They simply show you your path, but they don't give you suggestion on how to follow it," he said. "Now go. And pay attention to what you desire."

Harry nodded, and exiting the classroom, his first thought went to Hermione. He could have never wished to have a friend better than her.

- The End -