Year's End

November passed quickly, though the first two weeks were punctuated by nightmares for both Harry and Betty.

Betty, like most students, spent the December Hogsmeade weekends trying frantically to find gifts for all her friends and family, and counted herself lucky to be one of the few who succeeded. This year.

And then it was suddenly time to go home for the holidays. When Betty arrived at King's Cross only Daddy was there to pick her up, since Mama had remained at home to watch Ellie and Harry, who'd been sent by Floo that morning.

Their reception at home was noisy and colourful and fragrant. Harry told her that the three of them had been baking cookies all day. This was not strictly true, since the smell was of spaghetti alla bolognese, but Mama showed Betty the full cookie jar as proof.

The next day they finished decorating which had been a family tradition as long as Betty could remember. In fact, one of her first memories was of Daddy lifting her up to put the star at the top of the tree and Mama laughing as Betty got covered in needles in the process.

This year, however, it was Betty lifting Harry up. As she lowered him to the floor she couldn't resist tickling his ribs and he squirmed and giggled and tried to tickle her in return.

Christmas was… peaceful more than anything else. There was a lot of smiling and laughing, wonderful presents, and the cookies Harry and Ellie had made with Mama tasted good and were liberally decorated, which made Betty and Daddy laugh as they compared their cookies.

As New Year's Eve neared the excitement rose steadily, and by ten thirty in the evening Harry, Ellie and Betty were so high on adrenaline that they were impatiently running about (they had gone to a field outside town to shoot and watch the fireworks) and shouting until they ran out of energy near midnight.

Finally it was time and together they watched Daddy light the fuse on the first firework, before coming over to put his arm around mum.

At the exact moment when the old year ended and the new year began, Betty was squatting, supported on either side by Harry and Ellie who were gripping her arms like lifelines as they watched the sky light up with bright eyes.

If she cared to look, Betty knew, she would see her parents kissing.

She hoped dearly that what they said about New Year's was true. She was in the place she wanted to be for the rest of the year.

Charlie Weasley was hoping the exact opposite thing.

He stood in the backyard with his mother, a few feet away from his father and siblings, being shouted at for sneaking Fred and George a firework.

Of course he couldn't tell mum that they had blackmailed him. The two had found the present Tonks had sent and threatened to show it to all their siblings unless Charlie did something for them. Unwilling to give his brothers (especially Bill who would tell his classmates) any more ammunition to tease him with, he had submitted to his fate. What he also wouldn't tell mum, was that the firecracker she had confiscated was only the last of seven or eight. Fred and George would be sure to get revenge when he was least expecting it.

On the other hand, he intended to do that exact same thing.

Dora tripped suddenly, miraculously for the first time that evening, flailing for something to hold onto, hit the table with the cake on it, and landed hard on the ground.

As she was pushing herself back to her feet, Andromeda watched the table tip toward the box of fireworks and started running. She reached Dora just as the first candle fell from the cake on one of the fireworks, and as the world lit up in fire and bright lights and loud cracks, Andromeda landed a good ten yards away, still clutching Dora to her chest.

After she had got her breath back and recovered from the sudden Apparition, she held Dora out at arm's length and began patting her down to make sure she was still in one piece. "Oh, thank god. You're alright."

But Dora was already turning around, watching with awe the spectacle of light and noise where the table had once been.

Andromeda followed her eyes and found her own widening with similar emotion, and they stood there, mother and daughter, watching the lights dance in their backyard.

Somehow I doubt anyone's going to remember the cake now…

Far up north two old men were watching the stars, side by side and yet not quite together.

"Strange things have happened this year," said one.

"And yet stranger things will happen in the next," replied a voice from the dark forest behind the men.

Each spared a glance at the newcomer, then returned to watching the stars. The newcomer joined them.

"I wonder what she'll do. The girl. Wonder what that young man'll do, for that matter. But between them, I think the boy will be well taken care of," said the second man after a long silence.

"Their paths are uncertain. If they have been written, the stars have not yet revealed their stories to me, or any of us," said the newcomer. "Has your pet fortune teller spoken again?" he continued after a pause, directing his question at the first man.

The man sighed. "Not yet, but I fear she soon will. I do wonder if she is simply waiting for the right person to speak to."

"Well, nothing anyone can do now. Let's hope the peace lasts long and that we'll be ready when it goes. No need to worry about things we can't change," said the second man. He pulled a bottle from a pocket that looked far too small for something so large. "Might as well celebrate the new year in the traditional way."

The first man smiled behind his beard. "And what way would that be?"

"Getting so drunk you can't see straight."

On a tiny island even farther up north a large black dog slept dreamlessly in his cell.

All good things to those who wait.

AN: Well, fuck me, it's over.

Don't worry, it's not completely over, the story will continue, but this part is finished.

I hope everyone enjoyed reading 'Shadows of the Past' as much as I enjoyed writing it.

It's been more than a year since I started writing this fic and it's been a hell of a ride. Not much 'real action' but I'm just fine with what I got. And I'm sure the future will be even more rocky. For both Betty and me.

Stay tuned for part two.

Love, Annabeth