Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 7: Some Time Later

It was a rainy day. Everybody from Hogwarts was dressed in black robes, mourning the deceased people that fought in the war, including Ginny, a fellow student.

"And we will always hold them dear in our hearts."

With that phrase, Dumbledore's speech ended, and so did the memorial service. He got off the stage and went to the first row of chairs, where Harry and Sirius were busy trying to console Hermione and Molly, respectively. After a few kind words of comfort to the crying women, the Headmaster embraced Harry and told him a quiet "You've become a great man and wizard. I'm proud of you." The boy just nodded in acknowledgment, not trusting his voice.

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Weeks went by, and the grief they all felt for the deaths of the ones they cared about started to diminish. It seemed to Harry that time was truly a wonderful thing: though it did not completely heal a wound, at least it numbed its pain. Now their moods had improved a great deal, and there were parties everywhere to celebrate Voldemort's demise almost on a daily basis. As a result of living the traumatic experience of having the Dark Lord visiting the school, the Houses were more united than ever before. Moreover, some Slytherins who didn't have the same beliefs as their parents started to get along with the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students.

"Damn! Our luck is truly the worst!" a red haired boy cried out.

"Oh, shut up Ron. It was obvious that O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s weren't going to be canceled like the other regular exams did."

The three friends were sitting in the Great Hall having dinner, where Dumbledore announced that tests were going to be canceled, except for the aforementioned. That meant that they would have to study. It didn't look too good for Sirius, Harry thought, as he would probably have a certain three students constantly knocking on his door, pestering him to get some extra lessons.

They finished eating and now they were walking back to their rooms, making small talk. When they arrived to the stairs that led them to their beds, Harry gave Hermione a kiss, earning some gagging noises from Ron, and a bout of fake retching. After both of them rolled their eyes and hit him, they went to sleep.

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O.W.L.s were only a week away, and all 5th year students were a nervous wreck. They were constantly reading books, even while eating, and every moment that they weren't either in class or studying, they were quizzing each other. That's why the teachers decided to stop giving them homework, and even Quidditch was suspended. Some highly suspicious items were being sold as mental enhancing potions, so Harry and Hermione had to be constantly confiscating the rat blood filled vials in addition to studying for their incoming tests.

These two prefects and their best friend were currently sitting in the DADA classroom. Their eyes were completely fixed on a chair, which suddenly was transfigured into an ebony black panther, and back into a chair. Sirius was standing next to it, smirking, with his wand drawn out.

"See? It's not that difficult. If you can achieve to do this successfully, you will pass your exams with flying colors."

Somehow, they were not convinced they would be able to do it correctly. After a lot of tries, shouts, and even a quickly put out fire, the three of them managed to transform a piece of furniture into a black cat. It was not nearly as big or as shiningly black as Sirius's panther, but it would have to do.

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"Finally, we are free! I don't even care if I passed…" Ron said, sighing. Surprisingly, Hermione and (not so surprisingly) Harry agreed to this statement.

At the moment they were at the end-of-term feast, and the next day they would return to their homes. Hermione was reading the WizNation and her friends could tell that she was very surprised by its contents.

"What is it, Hermione?" her boyfriend asked.

"The newspaper says that Alexander Hawk, Fudge's successor, is doing a great job. He is repairing the city, including building some hospitals other than St. Mungos, to relieve them from all the work. He also approved some laws that equal semi-human creatures' rights, like gnomes and half giants, to wizards' rights. Considering that this isn't the Daily Prophet, their praise is something that can be trusted." She replied happily. At that moment Dumbledore stood up from the Head Table and started talking.

"As you all know this is a special year, since the source of our uncertainty and even fear has been removed from our hearts. Lord Voldemort, formerly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, was finally defeated. But you mustn't forget two very important things: the ones who have been lost and that Tom Riddle was not born a monster." Quickly silencing the whispers that had erupted after that last statement, he continued. "He ended up being the way he was due to his traumatic experiences as a child, and our own incompetence to realize the demons that plagued him, and stop him before he could turn our lives a living hell. If the Wizarding World remembers from now on, that purebloods, halfbloods, muggleborns, and other creatures should be equally treated and that we should all work together to stop any impending threat, another Dark Lord shall never arise. That's all. You are dismissed."

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Harry and Hermione were lying on the grass of Grimmauld Place's backyard. They were remembering all the events that had happened to them since the day they received the letter when they turned eleven.

"…And that was when I improvised that great speech for the reunion of the Angels of Light," Harry concluded.

"It wasn't that great of a speech, you know? You shouldn't let it go to your head."

"I know, I know, I was just kidding."

"Hey, the two lovebirds at the backyard, it's time to have lunch!" Sirius' yell could be heard from inside the house.

"It's very peaceful here. Things have changed a lot since the battle. I hope it stays this way," Hermione said while standing up.

"Don't worry, it will!"

THE END

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The Final A/N: This is the final chapter of HP AoL! Allow me to express my heartfelt thanks (very formal, isn't it?) to all of my readers/reviewers. It made me very happy to have such a response to my story, since I had thought no one would read it (As you can see, my self-esteem sometimes is very lacking. Sometimes is abnormally large, though). So, all I have to say is: Dômo Arigatô Gozaimashita!

The day I posted this (03/05/2008), in addition to being my mum's birthday, is exactly one month since I posted the first chapter. So, Happy Birthday to both my mother and HP AoL!

For the moment I don't intend to write another story (too busy watching anime!). But, in the future, if I feel up to it, maybe I will write another one, probably of another fandom. Please look forward to it.

A/N (06/04/2008): This story is now completely betaed and free of mistakes! This amazing feat was achieved by JuliaKerns5, and I can't thank her enough for sticking with me in the journey writing this fic has been. So, Thank you, Muchas Gracias, Obrigada, Grazie, Merci, Arigatô, Dank... (I can't think of any other languages right now). On another note, I am very pleased with myself that I managed to fulfill my initial goal (publish this story and then getting it betaed). I have some other stories written (or at least a drabble and a roughly processed idea about how to expand it) but I am too lazy and demotivated to write/polish them up. If I ever gather enough will to do it, please check them out. Enough said.

Read, Review and Enjoy

Legendary8