~Epilogue~

Jade Yang caught the news like everyone else in the wizarding world, but it's safe to say it affected her much differently. It was the most surreal experience of her life to watch the world celebrate while she was so upset, so consumed with pain that breathing actually hurt. She couldn't believe that Sirius would do such a thing to his best friend, to her best friend and their son. She convinced herself that something was missing. She knew that what she was doing was a defense mechanism, but she was far from caring about it.

It was still devastation beyond her most horrible nightmares. Her fiancé was accused and charged with the murder of three of his friends and a dozen innocent Muggles. The news thrashed her. Strange looks cast by people she knew followed her everywhere. She quit her job.

She stayed with her parents for six months until she could look at her reflection in the mirror and not break into sobs. When she felt she was ready to go back out into the world, she got a poor paying job for a magazine drawing pictures. But it was when she started to critique the articles she illustrated, she really started to fit in again. She went to her editor with the revised articles; how she thought her way sounded better. She was promoted.

With a new confidence, a new job, and a new home, Jade went to Dumbledore one year after the world changed. She asked him for one thing and one thing only: Harry. She said that Harry was all she could think about and she wasn't lying. After all, Lily was her best friend and she wanted to take Harry and raise him as her own son in Lily's honor ans spirit. To her severe disappointment Dumbledore said no. He told her that Harry already had a home with Lily's sister, and that Harry would have to stay there.

Jade doubted Dumbledore's judgement from that day on. She left Hogwarts with a feeling of loss.

In late 1982 while she was working on writing and art, Jade bumped into a man on the street. He was tall; he had dark hair, light blue eyes, and a great smile. He reminded her very much of Sirius. He said 'excuse me,' and continued on his path. Jade kept watching him walk away feeling herself smile. He turned around to see if she was still looking, then beamed. Jade smiled back but kept on her way.

A month later she bumped into him in the exact same spot. He mentioned what a coincidence it was and asked for her name. She told him. He exchanged his personal information. The hit it off.

After dating for a year, they got engaged. Brett Deverauex proposed to her on her birthday, dressed in knight's armor atop a white horse.

Brett and Jade live in the country not far outside of London. They have three children: Vanessa, Halley, and Clayton. Brett, an architect, built their home just after Vanessa was born. He included a personal office and studio for Jade, which she loved. Brett has designed such buildings as the Quidditch Stadiums used in World Cup matches. Jade published a fiction novel, has drawn entire murals for her children's walls, and raised her babies at home.

Sonja Woods was caught just outside Paris a few weeks after Voldemort's fall. She had been given up as the source to the IWBI's security breech. The ring, found in the home of Kim Philby, was traced back to her. It was given to her by her father, Abner Woods, who had stolen a sample of the black Obsidian from the Apparation Chamber, and embedded it inside a silver ring.

Sonja plead guilty to giving the ring to Philby. Her reasons were emotional, alleging that Ashika Narayan had killed her father and she wanted vengeance.

She was sentenced to only two years in a minimum security prison. Once out, she left England and lived in Paris, where she has reopened shop.

Kim Philby was sentenced to Azkaban for life for attempted murder. He still resides there today.

Ashika Narayan awoke from her coma in December of 1981. She was informed by her Healer that the IWBI was destroyed; Voldemort had fallen at the hands of the child Harry Potter; and that she would have scars from her burns for the rest of her life.

Ashika informed him that Kim Philby had attacked her. She provided evidence at Philby's trial and confirmed that Philby was wearing the silver ring. After her testimony, she disappeared. It has been rumored that she went back to India. Some have even said that she married and had six children. Dumbledore said it was laughable; each rumor was just as unlikely as the next.

Elizabeth Banks showed her face once more at James and Lily's funeral. At the reception she met up with Remus, who was there alone. She talked to him about what had happened; he told her all that he knew. She consoled him. She advised him that he move on and try to forget it all, then left. She married a man ten years her senior, but never had children. She's now divorced but seeing someone newer and younger.

Celeste Gellar received a short letter, which arrived by falcon. She gave Dumbledore her two weeks notice and resigned from the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. She traveled far and met up with Narayan. She was recruited, once more, into the IWBI...

Griphook, a goblin working for Gringotts bank, was welcomed by a falcon carrying a letter. There was a small note attached to the letter which read: please put this in vault 687, James Potter's vault. Griphook put the letter on top of the gold; it was buried as the years ticked by, for the interest on the large sum of money stacked up.

Artemis flew away, no longer in service, and was mother to several chicks.

The letter inside that envelope wasn't read for years, but it was read eventually by the addressee. Here is what it said:

Harry,

If you are reading this letter it can only mean that I am not here with you. I hope you won't find this until you're old and have great grandchildren who are getting married and planing families of their own. But we live in a world where fairy tales are not always possible. It is still hard for me to come to grips with that because my whole life has been just that; a beautiful fairy tale. Still I fear that my end will not include 'happily ever after.' That is why I am writing to you.

You are just fifteen months old now and quite precocious. There has yet to be a time when you haven't made me smile. Each time I look at you I feel a warmth I could have never dreamed. It's deep within my heart, this feeling. I can't give it justice but I will try to describe it to you. I believe it is great love and pride wrapped into one. But there's protection there as well, Harry. I keep this feeling for you so deep inside of me to protect it, to protect you. The feeling never goes away and never will, not even when you've made quite a mess and I have to clean up after you. Each time I think of you or look at you I am amazed that I could love anything that much.

As I write this, I must confess, it brings me to tears. You're so small yet I have so much pride for you. I've taken you to my work and shown you to people. I tell them that you are my son. My son. You don't really like strangers at your age, but they sure like you. People who I have never met in my life come up to me and tell me how perfect you are. I know it's not my ego when I tell them I know that you are. You're perfect. Your mother and I knew you would be. You are perfect and no one else could ever be more perfect than you are.

There are so many things I want to say to you, but not enough time in the universe to say them. I suppose I'll have to make with the time I have.

You will grow. It's one of those things in nature that not even wizards can stop. Magic cannot affect all things. Humans are just creatures which inhabit the planet. Only a few of them are wizards and we only perform the magic which has been given to us. But I digress. When you grow in size you will learn things that I cannot teach you, but what you must learn for yourself. I can tell you all that I know, but you will still starve for knowledge and truth. It is hard to find but I believe it's out there waiting for you to discover it.

When you are eleven your mother and I will take you to school. Simply thinking about it makes me nervous and I can't imagine how hysterical your mother will be. When I put you on the train you will learn to take care of you. You will grow. You will grow to perform magic, make friends and probably enemies, and hopefully to follow the rules. I must admit I never really did the latter. Rules were for people who didn't know how to have fun. I hope you learn how to have fun without breaking rules, Harry. But even if you don't, that's all right by me. I may get mad at you, but I will always love you and never want you to change.

You will never stop growing. For us it seems to take longer. By 'us' I mean men. Our maturity takes time and Lily would argue, along with many other women, that we never grow up. Thinking about the things I've done or would like to do, I believe women have a point. But even if we take our young children out for joy rides when they can't string a sentence together, we do grow. I have changed a lot since you were born, or I would like to think I have. When you were born I felt a huge responsibility on top of my shoulders. It wasn't a bad thing, Harry, don't think of that way. The weight Lily had put on me was heavy, but not as heavy as you. I learned to walk with the weight and as the time ticked by I have grown stronger. Responsibilities never go away; you only learn to deal with them better. I believe they are like energy, if you're good at science you will understand. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It comes to us in different forms. I don't ever want my responsibility for you to change form.

Some people tend to think responsibility is a bad thing; a demon that needs to be cursed back into hell. These people are all around you, Harry, and they always will be. They think anything that makes them accountable for their actions, anything that limits their time or energy is a horrible thing. I have met people like this and you will, too. You won't see them at first, it takes time, but it will come out of them in some form.

You are responsible for you and your actions. Once we send you away to primary school at age five, we will have taught you what is right and what is wrong. It is your responsibility to keep to that. I would say most people can tell what is right from wrong, but they choose to do what is wrong. Sometimes it is easier to make a bad choice than to live with the good one. I urge you to always make the good choice, even if it does bring you responsibility. Remember, responsibility is good, Harry. You must live with your choices. You can never change the past. I promise you that if you make the good choices, you will not regret it. It may take time, a great deal of time, before you realize this, but in the end you will know you were right; you will be proud of what you have done.

I suppose now I should tell you about some simpler ideas. Friendship being just one of those. The word 'friendship' is an idea. A 'friend' is real. What you should remember is you can choose your friends. Make good choices. There's an old adage that goes 'You can choose your friends but you can't choose your relatives.' I hope you will never use that against me! That would mean you were unhappy with your mother and me. But in any event the adage is true. Choose wisely. Look for people like you. Not just like you, of course, for you will spend forever searching; there is no one just like you. Look for people who value value, Harry. There are people who see the good in others, but are aware of the bad as well. Find them. Look for the realists who can dream, the honest who can talk to you straight, the caring who will watch over you, the humorous who can learn to laugh at something serious. Finding these people may be hard, but it may be easier than you think. They are out there. You will be one of them, as I am one and so is your mother. My best friend, your godfather, is. Friends are more precious than all the gold in Gringotts. Horde them, son. Find good friends and keep them forever.

Your enemies will also be out there. It wouldn't be life if you didn't run into people you can't stand. They may exemplify their hate towards you openly, in which case they are simple to find. They may, however, hide themselves with a grin. I have met only the first, I hope. My school enemy hated me outside and from within himself. But in all fairness to my enemy, I hated him just as much. I would like to think that as we grew up in school we lessened in our aggressions toward each other. Still, that does not excuse my behavior previous to that period in time. We hated each other like poison and always will. Life isn't a story. The bad guys don't always turn out to like you by the last pages of the book. Some people will always hate you. Even more people will dislike you, for hate is a strong emotion. But you can deal with that; you can roll with the punches. Do not spend your time worrying about what your enemies think of you. Why should you care? Do not try to impress them with your superior wit or talents. Know that you can take the high road. I hope you can; I could not.

Lean to listen to people. The eyes are the windows to the soul, but the mouth is the door. What you say reflects who you are. So it is the same for others. If you listen and listen well, you can know someone. They may not do what they say, but they know they should if they have said it. I know this is confusing right now, but when you grow up and find these people, that is when you will understand.

It is far easier to talk than to do. Try with all your might to do what you say. And be sure to reflect in words your actions. It is a challenge of paramount proportions. You will fail at this time and time again, but you must never give up.

Never give up, Harry. When you have a goal, and you will have many, go for it. The only person who can stop you from reaching your goal is you. The people who stand in your way are merely obstacles; Beaters, Chasers, and the Keeper who can be avoided. They will try to interfere, they may even set you off course, but when you find your Snitch in life, make sure you grasp it and never let it go.

There are some things I will not have to teach or will be able to teach. Some character traits are inborn and cannot be grown with time. These traits are courage, bravery, compassion, loyalty, and the ability to love. Many people would contest that, but I strongly believe that not all humans have these traits. Not many people have all of them. I consider a human lucky if he or she has at least one. After walking through crowds of my fellow man I have come to realize that some people are simply cattle following the lead steer. You will not be one who goes with the herd for the herd doesn't always know where they are going or who they are. Please pardon my metaphor, but I think you now know what I mean. These great traits of our species, of only our species, are inborn, as I said. What parents and friends do is to bring these traits out. We will know if you are courageous, brave, compassionate, loyal, or loving very soon. We can try to bring them out of you, son, but it is only you who can unveil them.

So now let me talk to you about love. Love is the easiest thing to do. Falling in love is even easier. I don't really think you can control your love, which can be very good but very dangerous as well. One day, Harry, you will meet a woman whom you will love and who will love you in return. It may take twenty or thirty years to find her, but you will. When you find her and you know she is the one for you, get down on your knee and propose. Marrying Lily was the best thing I have ever done. Marry her led me to you. There is no greater love than in a parent for a child. Remember that.

But it can also be very dangerous. A love for another may lead you to harm. I hope this phrase will always confuse you, but know that love is powerful. People will do crazy things out of love, also dangerous things.

Be careful with your love. When she loves you, Harry, treat her right. You will know, from the feelings within your own heart, that she is the one who can hurt you the most. It also plays the other way. Don't hurt her. Never make her cry.

You'll know you're in love if you want her happiness above your own. If you wish for her safety and her smile more than your own desires or ambitions, then you are truly in love. Simply having warm and fuzzy feelings for a woman is not love. You must know her deep secrets, her desires, what makes her happy, what makes her sad, and where you fit into her life. I know you will fall in love. It may take a while for you to meet the woman of your dreams, or it may take you a while to discover that she is the one for you. It may take only a second.

But the gist of it all is this: Love is the greatest magic of all. It overcomes many things, even what you can't expect.

I believe I should end this letter on that note. But I want to reaffirm that I love you, Harry, and I am so proud of the person you are now. I know your small but I also know that you will do great things and I will still be proud.

With fatherly love,

Dad

And so the journey ends. I have spent over a year writing this story, dreaming about the next chapter, writing the small adventures of James and Sirius, and now it comes to an end. I confess that I cried both when I ended it and when I had to kill my favorite character in the story. I kept telling myself it wasn't real, it wasn't even my own ending, it was just a story. But for me, the past year has been spent with some great friends. I have grown to love James and Sirius, above the others, and have truly enjoyed my time spent with them. I knew all along that I would have to kill James, but I never imagined how hard it would be for me.

But it is just a story. If you are reading this now then you probably share my love for it, but it is just a story. I have probably made you cry because of the ending and how I wrote the deaths. Please know that if I could have changed the plot line, I would have. But I tried to keep to the plot line of J.K. Rowling's world; the world we love far too much.

I only say this because I know someone will tell me how horrible I was for making the ending so hard to endure, for making it so sad. But I really didn't have a choice. I knew as I wrote the first line of this story that I was going to take it to the end.

But I promise you this: I will not write a sad ending again. It hurt too much. If you want to continue reading my work, and I hope you do, remember that I will never leave you an ending like this one. I will never cry out an ending due to content again.

I know I am not the greatest writer and I know I need improvement. Still, I am proud of this story. There are elements that I would like to change, but can't because the whole thing would then be scrapped. I am aware of my flaws. They stand out in this story and probably won't be so obvious in my next. It is hard to change halfway through one story. I would have, but couldn't. I hope I don't sound like I'm rambling on...

I started out this story as a new writer; it was my first story ever. I was weak with character development, grammar, syntax, and other things. I think now I am much better at character development. It will take me a while to get everything else down to a science.

The Human Condition is a much stronger work of mine. The characters are much better defined, the story moves very fast, and I'm working with different elements of genre and human emotion. I hope all of you jump over there and check it out. I have two chapters posted.

And now I would like to say thanks. Thanks to all of you who have given me praise, even to those who have critiqued me. You made me work faster on the next chapter; you made me smile when I opened my email. Thank you so much. Please join me for my next foray into fan fiction.

It's been a fun year,

~C.K. Talons