"A memory lasts forever, never does it die. True friends stay together and never say goodbye."
-Anonymous
Harry walked into the Great Hall for breakfast in mid-June to see the students, their sleeves rolled up and ties undone, talking excitedly. Not knowing why, he quickly shuffled over to the Slytherin table to sit next to Bletchley and Pucey.
"What's going on?" Harry inquired.
"You don't know?" Pucey asked, his eyes wide as he smiled largely. "Dumbledore cancelled all the exams!"
"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed in happiness. Now he could relax at Hogwarts without having to worry about studying.
"It seems, he's the happiest of us all that the school didn't close," Bletchley remarked, smiling also.
"Well, he should be," said Pucey. "He's our headmaster."
Those two weeks since the Basilisk had been killed, Miles Bletchley had slowly regained the friendship of Higgs and Pucey. Harry had been checking up on him from afar to make sure he was all right. In some ways, it had been his fault that Bletchley was now called the "Slytherin Mudblood" behind his back and to his face, since Riddle had made him open the Chamber. Harry just wanted to know he had paid his due back.
When Draco and Blaise arrived, he told them the exuberant news about the exams, or rather lack of them. His friends were ecstatic and afterwards eating breakfast, they decided to practice Quidditch. Draco and Blaise borrowed the old school brooms, too happy to care that they weren't necessarily functional.
But later that evening, Draco's merriment ended when he got a letter from his father.
"They can't do that to my father!" Draco said loudly, aghast.
Harry and Blaise walked over to him to see what was wrong. "What is it?" Blaise asked.
"My father's no longer a school governor," Draco sputtered with distaste, still holding the parchment. "Apparently, there was some miscommunication between him and the other governors about what should be done concerning Dumbledore and the Chamber of Secrets. And since he had a more offensive approach to the situation, they sacked him."
Harry and Blaise exchanged glances, not knowing how to react. They said they were sorry about what happened, but it didn't really help. Draco was in a slump for a few days about it, but managed to get over it.
On the last evening of Hogwarts, all the staff and students gathered in the Great Hall for the end-of-the-year feast. Excited but sullen murmurs filled the room, knowing that tomorrow they would have to leave for the summer. Harry was just pleased he wouldn't have to leave for good.
Harry looked up to see half a dozen black cloths with the Hogwarts "H" hanging among the wooden beams above. It was clear that Gryffindor was going to win because they hadn't lost a considerable amount of points this year. Must have been because most of the students Petrified had been Gryffindors. Coming up behind them, point-wise, were the Hufflepuffs and then the Ravenclaws. Slytherins, with a substantial loss of points, were last, but if they had just gotten ninety more points, they would be in the lead.
Headmaster Dumbledore stood at the Head table. The room instantly quieted, as students looked his way with smiles. "Let me start by saying that this has been one of the toughest years Hogwarts has undergone, but we have all persisted through the Chamber of Secrets ordeal and come out on top." Dumbledore glanced around the room. "However, regarding the points system, one House has obtained the top spot with their resilience and determination. So, because of recent events, I award Harry Potter one hundred points for defeating the Heir of Slytherin. The House Cup goes to…Slytherin House!"
The black banners above them changed to dark green with a large, curled snake pictured. Harry and the other Slytherins jumped from their seats, cheering and laughing and jeering in excitement. The rest of the Great Hall was quiet, looking at them with disdain for their win. The Slytherins quickly quieted and the attention was back at their headmaster.
"I'm pleased to say this is not the last end-of-the-year feast. We will be enjoying many more to come." Dumbledore waved his slender hands and all the glasses slowly began to fill and he continued, "Now, please raise your glasses in a toast to a dear teacher and friend. To Oliver Parish!"
The entire room lifted their glasses in the air and exclaimed in unison, "To Oliver Parish!"
Dumbledore took a quick sip and then added, "Seeing as this is the last feast this school year…eat as much as you please!" He swayed his hands once again and food instantly appeared on the tables.
Murmur started once more as the students began to talk animatedly. The feast went well into the night; Harry, Draco, and Blaise would know since they had been one of the last groups of people to leave. It was a good thing they had decided to pack earlier that day because they knew they would want to sleep late the next morning.
And indeed they did. They woke up when the time was nearing ten o'clock. They got dressed right away, going up for a late breakfast. Immediately after, they were taken to the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle got a compartment to themselves. Just as Harry's watch ticked eleven o'clock, the train whistled loudly and took off without delay.
"What are you mates doing during the holiday?" Blaise asked as he closed the compartment door behind him.
"Me and my parents are going to visit my aunt in Scotland," grunted Goyle.
"Where in?" Blaise inquired, but Goyle just shrugged. "What about you, Malfoy?"
"Not going anywhere," Draco informed them. "I told my father not to make plans since Harry'll be staying over. My father said that we could take day trips to Diagon Alley. He's got a lenient schedule for work." Harry nodded, wanting to go straight to Malfoy Manor, but knew he couldn't.
"What about you, Blaise, where're you going?" Harry asked.
"My mum and I are going to Italy for the whole month of July," Blaise bragged excitedly.
"Never been there," Draco mumbled.
"We've been planning to go for months. My mum even sent me a book on Italian," Blaise said, taking out a pocket-sized book.
For a while, they made Blaise look up random words to call each other, like "cattivo" (bad), "brutto" (ugly), "debole" (weak), and "stupido" (stupid). Eventually, they decided to make the most of the last hours they would be allowed to do magic. Taking out their wands, they tried to disarm each other. Harry succeeded in disarming them much more than the others succeeded in disarming him, but it was all in good fun.
Inevitably, the train pulled into King's Cross station. It was on the verge of growing dark when the Hogwarts Express stopped. Harry, accompanied by the others, got off the train to collect their trunks.
As Harry walked through the wall to the Muggle world, he held tightly onto the handle of his trunk as he gripped Hedwig's cage with his other hand. Draco and Blaise followed, lugging their trunks unsteadily. Blaise instantly found his dark-haired, pretty mother, who was waiting for him off to the side, so he said his goodbye and left.
Draco also saw his father, his long hair falling down his back as he gripped his black cane. The man gave Harry a small nod, which he returned, uneasily, before saying, "See you later, Draco."
As he walked down the station toward the parking lot, he met Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed at seeing him. "How are you? Haven't seen you in months." She hugged him tightly.
"Let him breathe, Molly," Mr. Weasley voiced, as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Is your aunt and uncle coming to pick you up?"
"I think so," Harry assured. "They should–"
A man cleared his throat loudly behind Harry, who turned to see red-faced, overweight Uncle Vernon. Aunt Petunia and Dudley were standing a ways behind him, looking at the Weasley's like they were of a different species.
"I got to go," Harry mumbled. "I'll see you during the summer, Ron."
"See you, mate," Ron answered.
Harry walked, miserably, with the Dursley's away from the magical world. When he had walked a few steps, he looked over his shoulder to see the Weasley's already strolling away. Ginny turned, catching his eye. Ron looked back at him, giving him one last wave of farewell.
As they made their way to Uncle Vernon's car, storm clouds became more apparent in the sky. Aunt Petunia clutched her purse over her head, not wanting to get wet even though no raindrops came. Dudley opened the door quickly and stuffed himself into the car, taking out a large piece of toffee. Harry pulled open the door, still holding Hedwig's cage, as Uncle Vernon put his trunk in the back.
Not five minutes had passed, as the car pulled onto the street, when a tremendous downpour began.
Harry could tell already that it wasn't going to be a very pleasant summer.
A/N: So sad that we must part, but don't worry. I'll put up the first chapter to A Different Road III: Friend or Foe very soon. So look out for it! I just want to say thanks to all of you for continually reading and reviewing my story! Your comments, whether they're constructive criticism or praise, help me so much and I look forward to reading them! Thanks, guys! See you soon!
Sara