AN: The last chapter! The story is done.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

THE WEDDING

Harry awoke early the next morning. It was still dark outside, and all of the other beds in the dorm were still occupied by Harry's snoring friends. He was still tired, but sleep would not return. A glance at a clock showed that it was only five in the morning. Harry gave up trying to sleep and instead decided to sit by the fireplace in the common room. Harry was surprised when he arrived to find Hermione already sitting there.

"Trouble sleeping?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah. How about you?"

"Today is a big day," sighed Hermione, "especially for the two of us."

"Why just the two of us?" asked Harry.

"I know Ron doesn't understand, and Ginny tries, but she can't, really," offered Hermione. "You may not feel it as strongly as I do, but I'm sure it affects you, too."

Harry felt as though he was missing a crucial part of the conversation.

"I'm not following you, Hermione."

"For the first ten years of our lives, Harry, we were Muggles. We lived in the Muggle world. I know that time is full of bad memories for you, but I was very happy during those ten years. When I was invited to attend Hogwarts, I entered the magical world, but every summer I went back home to live with my family in the Muggle world."

"You see, even though I was at Hogwarts, I never had to decide between these two different worlds. By getting married today, I am making a commitment to living in the magical world. It will almost be as though the first ten years of my life never happened. I'll be leaving my parents behind and starting a new family here."

"It would be a pleasure for me if the first ten years of my life had never happened. I honestly can't say I'll miss the Dursleys at all," admitted Harry. "But it must have been difficult for my mom to face this same situation. She was even leaving a sister behind in the Muggle world. I have no idea how that must have felt."

Harry sat and thought for a moment while he and Hermione both stared into the fireplace.

"You're not having second thoughts about marrying Ron, are you?"

"No, I've known that I've wanted to marry Ron ever since the battle here last year. Actually, I had hopes for several years before that."

Hermione paused as she continued to look absently into the fireplace.

"I have no doubts about marrying Ron, I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment by the life-changing aspects of it all."

Silence returned to the room briefly until Hermione turned to face Harry.

"How about you? It's not like you to be up this early in the morning. Are you having any doubts?"

"I don't think I have the same concerns you do. I can't say that I miss the Muggle world at all. Despite all the dangers we've had to face, entering the magical world was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I have no doubts that I want to marry Ginny," continued Harry. "I used to wonder how I would ever know if I was in love. Then I started dating Ginny and I just knew that I was in love. I've known that I wanted to marry her ever since Bill and Fleur's wedding, but back then I didn't really believe I would survive the fight against Voldemort, so I didn't think I would ever get the chance. I was one hundred percent certain when I woke up the morning after we had defeated Voldemort and found Ginny waiting for me. We may as well have been engaged on that morning. Nothing was going to come between us after that."

"Then what are you doing up so early?" asked Hermione.

"I'm just scared of having to stand up in front of all of those people."

"You mean you can't sleep just because you have a case of stage fright? Men!" proclaimed Hermione with disgust.

Harry and Hermione sat up talking until the others began to awaken and join them in the common room. Once they were all up and dressed, they struck out as a group for breakfast in the Great Hall. Along the way, they encountered the Dursleys roaming the hallways, also in search of breakfast.

"One of those midget elves came by and told us it was time for breakfast," growled Uncle Vernon. "The spooky little thing scared poor Dudders here half to death. I'm afraid to see what kind of strange food they are going to try to serve us here."

Harry took a quick look at Dudley. If he had been frightened, he certainly recovered quickly. Harry thought he could see the drool on Dudley's lips as he anticipated his next meal.

Harry and his friends all sat down at the Gryffindor table, as much out of habit as anything else. The Dursleys sat just behind them, keeping to themselves at another table. After their serving plates magically filled up, Harry took a glance back at their table. While Uncle Vernon was inspecting a sausage as if it was a clue in a murder mystery, Dudley was already working his way through a plate full of bacon. Harry looked back a few minutes later and saw that Uncle Vernon now had eggs and toast as well as sausage on his plate, though he was still eating cautiously. Harry could only hope no one else was watching what a pig Dudley was making of himself.

After a few more minutes, Harry heard Aunt Petunia's voice carrying as a whisper to Harry. Harry saw her talking again to Uncle Vernon.

"I'm telling you, it's him."

"Don't be ridiculous, Petunia," answered Uncle Vernon. 'What in heaven's name would he be doing here?"

Harry was so intent on figuring out who the Dursley's were talking about that he didn't notice the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, approach him from behind.

"Hello, Harry," said Kingsley as Harry gave a small jump from surprise. "I didn't mean to startle you. We just wanted to stop by and wish you a happy wedding day. That goes for all four of you," he continued as he looked towards Ron, Ginny and Hermione.

"Thank you, Minister," said Harry, as he looked at Shacklebolt and saw that he had the Muggle Prime Minister with him, "and thank you, Mr. Prime Minister."

"Well, Mr. Potter, when Shacklebolt here told me you were getting married and invited me to take a look around at the wizard school, I couldn't resist the opportunity. Congratulations to you also, Miss Weasley," added the Prime Minister.

"It is good to see you again, sir," answered Ginny.

As the two ministers continued on their tour, Aunt Petunia could not hide her surprise as she spoke to Harry.

"You know the Prime Minister?"

"Kingsley, our Minister of Magic, took Ginny and I to meet the Prime Minister last year on the same day you came back to Privet Drive. We had to let him know that Lord Voldemort and his followers had been defeated, so things were going to be safer from then on," explained Harry. "The Prime Minister and our Minister of Magic have been keeping in touch, so they have some ideas what is going on in each other's worlds."

Uncle Vernon snorted as he refilled his plated with eggs.

"The Prime Minister seems to be a little too friendly with these magical freaks. I don't think I'll be voting for his lot in the future."

Harry shook his head and returned to his breakfast. Just as he was about to take a bite from his toast, he was startled into dropping it as Peeves flew right under his nose.

"Butterfingers! Butterfingers! Don't drop the ring this afternoon!" giggled Peeves as he zoomed away with Nearly Headless Nick behind him.

"Harry, my boy," said Nick. "I'm sorry about Peeves. I'm trying to keep him from causing too much trouble today."

Harry heard Dudley talking behind him.

"M-Mum, D-dad, it's a g-g-ghost," he stammered as he pointed at Nick.

Just then Peeves returned. Coming up behind Dudley, he stuck his head through Dudley's chest.

"Boo!"

Uncle Vernon jumped backwards and let loose a stream of curse words. Aunt Petunia screamed and Dudley fainted. As Nick chased him away, Peeves was heard laughing that nothing was quite as much fun as spooking some Muggles.

After they revived Dudley, the Dursleys decided to go back to their room. Uncle Vernon proclaimed that he had experienced about all he could take of the place, but Harry also noticed that he and Dudley each took a plate full of food with them.

Just as Harry figured he would finally get a chance to finish his breakfast in peace, Ginny and Hermione both stood up to leave the table.

"Where are the two of you going?" asked Ron.

"It's only six hours until the wedding," stated Ginny. "Hermione and I need to get started working on our hair, then we have to make certain that our dresses look just right. Even with our mothers helping out, we're going to be cutting it a little close."

Harry glanced over at Ron who merely raised an eyebrow back at him.

"That reminds me," added Hermione. "Mr. Weasley has your dress robes. Make sure you are both properly dressed in time for the wedding."

"Oh, no," groaned Ron. "Not dress robes."

"Don't worry," chided Ginny. "We picked out nice looking, modern robes for both of you. You won't look like you did at the Yule Ball several years ago in those old fashioned robes you were sporting."

After Ginny and Hermione had left, Ron asked Harry what they were supposed to do until the wedding.

"I don't know," admitted Harry. "I guess we have to keep busy on our own for a few hours. Unless," Harry continued, "you think we should start working on our hair."

"What are we going to do two minutes later when we are done?" laughed Ron. "Let's finish up breakfast and head back to the common room."

Ron and Harry lingered over breakfast, then they found Mr. Weasley and picked up their robes, before going to the Gryffindor common room for some games of wizard's chess.

"How long until the wedding now?" asked Ron as he defeated Harry for the third consecutive game.

"Another five hours," sighed Harry. "You know, I was never sure how I would feel today. I thought I might be excited, nervous or even scared, but I never thought I would be bored."

"Tell me about it," confirmed Ron.

Harry and Ron tried everything they could think of to pass the time. After three of the longest hours of their lives, they gave up, changed into their dress robes and went out to the marquee to wait for the wedding to start.

To Harry's surprise, there was already some activity going on. Ron's four brothers were performing their usher duties, as guests were starting to show up. Suddenly, Ron and Harry's boredom vanished as they spent their time trying to pick out all of the visitors. Most of the guests were people they both knew, such as their Hogwarts' classmates and teachers, or the members of the Auror department. There were also many people Harry only vaguely recognized. Most of these were Ron's relatives and neighbors who Harry had only seen at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Finally, there were some people neither he nor Ron had ever seen before. They had the most fun trying to guess who these visitors were.

Harry noticed that Ron's attention was suddenly drawn to the back of the tent.

"Harry, look who's here."

Almost impossible to miss in his bright yellow sun-colored robe was Xenophilius Lovegood, accompanied by his daughter Luna and her date, the same guy Harry had seen with her in Hogsmeade the day Rabastan Lestrange had tried to attack Ginny. Harry's first reaction was surprise that Luna's father had come, since their last meeting had not ended on the most pleasant of terms.

"I'm amazed that git came," continued Ron.

Harry watched as Bill escorted Luna and her date to their seats. He noticed that Mr. Lovegood stayed inconspicuously in the back, or at least as unnoticed as anyone could be while wearing bright yellow robes.

"Mr. Lovegood looks like he might be a little embarrassed to be here," noted Harry. "I bet Luna talked him into it. Remember, he was a big supporter of us before the Death Eaters kidnapped Luna. After all, Hermione sent her parents to safety and we even did the same thing with the Dursleys. Your parents were like rocks, but I wonder about your Dad. What if he didn't have you or your brothers or your Mom? If it was just him and Ginny and the Death Eaters had kidnapped Ginny, what would he have done?"

Ron's face softened as he thought about that possibility for a moment.

"I don't know."

"Me neither," said Harry, as he realized he didn't know what he would have done over a year ago if the Death Eaters had kidnapped Ginny. "I think I'll talk to Luna later and probably give Mr. Lovegood a second chance."

The tent was starting to fill up by this time, which allowed Ron and Harry to notice how good many of their old classmates looked when they were all dressed up. Ron made sure he mentioned to Harry how good his old flame Cho Chang was looking when she arrived. At that point, a large hand solidly thumped down on one of Harry's shoulders, as between he and Ron stood Viktor Krum.

"Harry, it is good to see you again. I vos disappointed to hear you did not continue your Quidditch career. I vos hoping ve could compete someday."

Harry did not know why he was surprised to see Krum, since he had undoubtedly been invited by Hermione.

"Ginny signed to played Seeker with the Holyhead Harpies," replied Harry. 'Maybe you'll get the chance to play against her."

Krum grunted, not seeming to be all that worried about the challenge Ginny might pose. Harry decided he would have to be there the day Krum realized that was a mistake.

Ron was not looking happy at all that Krum was present.

"Who invited you?" he asked pointedly.

Krum did not seem to take offense at Ron's inquiry.

"Hermione sent me an invitation as vell as a copy of her book. It vos very impressive reading how you all teamed up to defeated that Voldemort fellow. Ve had heard the basics in Bulgaria, but I had not heard the details until Hermione's book arrived. Good vork."

Ron, who had just been angry to see Krum a minute ago, was now taken aback by the compliment.

"Uh, thanks," he replied. "So, have you actually read Hermione's book?"

"Not exactly," said Krum as he looked over all the guests. "A friend of mine read it and told me all the details. Quidditch keeps me too busy to spend time reading books."

Harry looked behind Krum to see Ron grinning. No matter how hard he tried, even Ron couldn't help liking the guy.

"It looks like there are a lot more vomen here than the last time I saw you at a vedding," continued Krum. "Even if you two took the best vuns, there should still be a lot to choose from tonight."

Neither Harry nor Ron knew how to reply to that. Before they could even try, Ron's brother Charlie approached them.

"Mum says you two have to get up front right now. The wedding is about to begin."

Ron and Harry stood at the front of the marquee, both feeling a bit out of place in their black dress robes with white roses pinned to their lapels. Once they were in place, Minister Shacklebolt stood between them and addressed the gathering once quiet had fallen.

"It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the wedding of two couples who have meant a great deal to the wizarding world the last few years. As Minister of Magic I am officially here to congratulate these four fine young people as well as to thank them for all they have already accomplished in their lives. On a personal level, I feel privileged to be able to personally offer my wishes for a lifetime filled with happiness, love and peace. Now, let the ceremony begin!"

Minister Shacklebolt signaled to someone Harry could not see in the back and beautiful, soft music filled the marquee. Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Weasley strolled down the aisle, Mrs. Weasley resplendent in brand new amethyst-colored robes and hat similar to what she had worn to Bill's wedding the year before. Mrs. Granger wore a Muggle dress of the deepest royal blue, which no one thought of as out of place due to her proud manner as she worked her way down the aisle. Both women already had misty eyes, and Mrs. Weasley showed a few tears as evidence of more recent crying.

The music increased in volume as Mr. Granger and Hermione followed them down the aisle. Mr. Granger looked very stiff and serious, which Harry thought might be how he reacted to nervousness. He wore a dark blue suit which stood out since the only other person dressed similarly in the tent was the Prime Minister who was sitting up front with Minister Shacklebolt.

Hermione glided down the aisle beside her father and Harry heard a sharp intake of breath come from Ron beside him. They had known Hermione for years, but had almost never seen here put very much effort into her appearance. But today her hair was sleek and shiny, and knotted up into elegant designs on her head. She was wearing a shimmering white dress that seemed to throw off sparkling bits of light in all directions. The dress started over her shoulders and then widened as it reached the floor, where part of it trailed along smoothly behind her.

Mr. Granger walked Hermione up to Ron, before stopping to give his daughter a kiss. Then he placed her hand in Ron's and whispered quietly in Ron's ear.

"You take good care of my girl, Ronald."

Ron merely nodded before Mr. Granger turned and took his seat.

By that time Mr. Weasley and Ginny were making their way down the aisle. Mr. Weasley was a little less stately than Mr. Granger, as he smiled and waved to friends as he proceeded towards the front. Harry could tell he had not bothered to get new robes, but was instead wearing the same ones he wore to Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Ginny floated next to him, looking more beautiful than Harry had ever seen her before. Unlike Hermione, she had not tied up her hair, which flowed gently over her shoulders and down her back. She wore a strapless white dress with a ribbon waist accent featuring the scarlet and gold colors of Gryffindor house. Her dress did not sparkle like Hermione's, but instead was ruffled as it cascaded from her waist down to the floor.

Like Mr. Granger before him, Mr. Weasley escorted Ginny over to Harry and placed her hand in his, then turned and took his seat by Mrs. Weasley, who let out a quick burst of tears. Harry looked into Ginny's eyes, when the silence was broken by the distinctive tone of the voice of Ginny's Aunt Muriel.

"I don't know why Ginevra always seems to favor those low cut dresses. I offered her the dress I wore at my wedding, which would have suited her much better."

Harry and Ginny both smiled. Harry always liked it when something happened that assured him that some things always remained the same.

"Ladies and gentlemen," started the tufty-haired wizard who was again presiding. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two pairs of faithful souls . . ."

Harry noticed that he was saying almost the exact same words he had said at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and his mind began to wander. He noticed that Ron was staring at the presiding wizard, slightly shaking with his nervousness. Hermione was holding his hand and trying to keep Ron calm without being obvious. Ginny was paying as little attention to the ceremony as Harry was. She gave him a wink after motioning over towards Ron, whose fright she found amusing. Finally, Harry's attention was snapped back when he heard the wizard directly address them.

"Do you, Ronald Bilius, take Hermione Jean to be your wife?"

Ron answered in the affirmative, though in a somewhat quiet and cracking voice. Mrs. Weasley let out an audible sob which seemed to calm Ron for some reason.

"And do you, Hermione Jean, take Ronald Bilius to be your husband?"

To which Hermione gave a more resounding "I do."

Then it was Harry and Ginny's turn. They turned to face each other, and Harry's nerves suddenly took hold of him. A quick look at Ginny's smiling face reminded him that he had no doubts about this wedding, that it was something he deeply wanted to do. With that, Harry's nervousness disappeared and his confidence returned. He stood a little straighter as he was addressed.

"Do you, Harry James, take Ginevra Molly to be your wife?"

Harry stared into Ginny's eyes for the briefest of moments as if to answer her privately before he stated "I do," out loud.

"And do you, Ginevra Molly, take Harry James to be your husband?"

Ginny also looked at Harry briefly before replying.

"Of course I do."

The tufty-haired wizard looked at both couples and then off into the assembled crowd.

"Then I now declare you bonded for life."

George stood up along with Bill and threw a ball into the air. It exploded with sparks of every colour imaginable and small puffs of smoke, leaving behind a message written in bright yellow and white lights:

RON and HERMIONE

The words hovered for a moment before slowly advancing to the back of the tent. Bill threw another ball in the air and the process was repeated with a second message:

HARRY and GINNY

While the crowd was still admiring the fireworks display, Seamus stood up and pointed towards the sky in front of the marquee.

"Look up there!"

Harry spun around in time to see a dozen or more broomsticks and their riders dropping out of the sky and aiming straight for him. At the last minute they pulled out of their dive and buzzed just above the top of the tent. Harry recognized that they were in full Gryffindor uniform and were all of his, Ron's and Ginny's Quidditch teammates who were not otherwise involved in the ceremony. As they passed overhead, Harry heard several chairs crash to the ground. Somehow, he knew what he would see even before he looked. As he expected, he found Dudley and Uncle Vernon lying on the ground, having fallen backwards out of their chairs as they had watched the aerial show.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" yelled Uncle Vernon as the people sitting behind him struggled to help lift Dudley and him off the ground.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called the tufty-haired wizard once the commotion had subsided. "Please rise to honor the newly-married couples."

He waved his wand and the tent began its transformation for the reception. A previously unused offshoot of the tent was revealed to contain the band, while a dance floor materialized on the ground. White clothed tables appeared on the floor while all the chairs the guests had been using rearranged themselves around the tables.

Waiters soon followed with trays of snacks and drinks, while glasses of champagne hovered in mid-air waiting for the guests to grab them. Harry thought the difficult part of the wedding was over for him, but instead the next hour was a whirlwind. Harry and Ginny were able to dance the first dance of the night together, and then he danced one dance with Mrs. Weasley while Ginny danced with her father. After that, he and Ginny were constantly being talked to by guests who each wanted to congratulate them personally. A growl from Harry's stomach reminded him that he had not eaten since breakfast.

Approximately an hour into the reception, Harry was finally able to grab a quick tart to eat. When the band next played a slow song, he and Ginny were able to escape to the dance floor together. Besides being something of a break from the other activities of the reception, Harry was just happy to have a little time somewhat alone with his bride.

As they danced, Harry noticed several other couples on the floor. Ron and Hermione were there, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. George was looking fairly graceful dancing with Angelina, while Luna was happily swaying with her boyfriend Rolf Scamander. He even saw Uncle Vernon dancing with Aunt Petunia, though from his uncle's movements Harry figured he had been enjoying the champagne a little too much.

Ginny soon directed Harry's attention to another couple on the dance floor. Harry smiled when he saw that Krum had indeed found an available girl. Harry couldn't see who it was at first, but when they twirled around he was surprised to see Krum dancing with his old girlfriend, Cho Chang.

Ginny had been watching carefully for Harry's reaction.

"Cho always did seem to prefer the big Quidditch stars," commented Ginny. "Are you jealous, Harry?"

"What? Err . . . um . . . of course not," answered Harry so lamely that even he didn't believe his own answer.

"Uh, huh."

"Alright, alright, so maybe I am a little jealous," admitted Harry. "I guess you never really get all the way over your first girlfriend. But so much had happened since those days that it seems like a lifetime ago that I was interested in Cho."

Harry stared off into the sky for a bit, then turned his attention back to Ginny's eyes.

"Now, if you really want to make me jealous, you should dance with Michael Corner or Dean Thomas. Though I don't think I could ever get as jealous as you would see from your brother if Hermione were to dance with Krum."

"Actually, if either Michael or Dean ask, I was planning on dancing with them tonight, just for old time's sake," admitted Ginny with a grin. "But I will never do anything to intentionally make you jealous, and you should know that."

"Of course I do," answered Harry. "You should know the same thing."

Ginny responded by dancing even closer to Harry. The band cooperated by playing several more slow songs, allowing Harry and Ginny several more minutes alone together on the dance floor.

The musicians soon picked up the pace of the music. It looked like a great party to Harry, but he was too physically and emotionally exhausted to enjoy it as much as many of the guests. Harry was hoping one of Ron's relatives might pull some sort of crazy stunt in the middle of the dance floor, just like in the stories he had heard told in the past at the Burrow. To Harry's great disappointment, all of the Weasleys behaved this night.

Later in the evening, Harry and Ginny moved towards the back of the marquee to catch some of the guests as they were leaving. Harry was able to introduce Ginny to his co-workers in the Auror department while she acquainted him with all of her future teammates on the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team.

Right behind the Quidditch team was Luna, Rolf and Mr. Lovegood, who cautiously approached Harry first.

"My daughter convinced me that today would be a good opportunity to apologize for my actions in the past year or so. I did not wish to cause you any trouble, but they had my Luna, you know . . ."

Harry held up his hand to stop him.

"No apology is necessary, Mr. Lovegood. I hold no hard feelings towards you. Luna is one of my favorite people in the entire world, and I'm just learning for myself what a person might be willing to do for a family member he loves."

Harry had barely finished shaking Mr. Lovegood's hand when Dedalus Diggle came by supporting Uncle Vernon as they staggered past.

"We're heading back to the train," strained Dedalus under the load. "Good thing for us this big lout will probably sleep the entire way back to London."

Hestia Jones also walked by with Dudley and Aunt Petunia. Harry's aunt stopped, paused for a moment, then returned back to Harry.

"I listened to a lot of people talk today," she began. "Many of them said very nice things about you and they all said good things about your wife. She seems to be a fine young woman. I believe you made a good choice."

"Err, thanks," replied Harry.

"Thank you for allowing me to see all of this," added Aunt Petunia, "and may the two of you enjoy a nice life."

Before Harry could get over his surprise at the nicest thing his aunt had ever said to him, she had already rejoined Dudley and Hestia and had walked away. As Harry turned his attention back into the tent, he and Ginny were approached by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Why don't the two of you go on home?" suggested Mrs. Weasley to Ginny. "Your father and I can finish taking care of things here."

"Are you sure, Mom?"

"Oh, yes. Ron and Hermione are saying their goodbyes to her parents right now," continued Mrs. Weasley. "We'll bring them back to the Burrow tonight and start them on their way back to Australia tomorrow. There is a carriage outside to take the four of you back to Hogsmeade so you can Apparate back to your new homes."

Ginny responded by giving her mother the biggest hug Harry had ever seen from her, then giving another one to her father. Harry also hugged Mrs. Weasley and shook hands with Mr. Weasley, then they joined Ron and Hermione who were already on their way out the back of the marquee.

The four of them entered the carriage and sat in silence while the thestrals pulled them towards Hogsmeade. Harry thought how sad it was that all four of them, as well as most of their friends, could see the thestrals now that they had all seen someone's death.

As the carriage pulled to a stop in Hogsmeade, Harry noticed that their bags were also on board. Someone had planned that little detail well. The two couples dismounted with their luggage and prepared to Apparate home now that they were outside of the protective charms that prevented Apparition into or out of the Hogwarts' grounds. Before the couples separated, Hermione spoke to Harry and Ginny.

"We'll be expecting you for dinner Tuesday night."

"We'll be there," answered Ginny. Harry imagined the two women had made the arrangements previously, like they usually did.

Ron and Hermione then each held a bag as well as each other's hand and disappeared with a slight popping sound.

Ginny grabbed her bag and moved to approximately the same spot where Ron and Hermione had just been.

"We're next," she said.

But Harry had not followed her. Instead, he was still staring back at Hogwarts castle. Ginny walked over to him and held his hand, but did not speak.

"This place is the closest thing I have had to a home so far," said Harry quietly to no one in particular. "After tonight, I really have no reason to ever return."

"Oh, I don't know," answered Ginny. "You seem to be well cut out as a teacher, and I always thought you might be headmaster here some day."

"Maybe, but that would be a long way off," responded Harry slowly. "I like my current job, and being headmaster would mean seeing a lot less of Ron and Hermione, and especially you, unless the three of you also wanted to work here."

"No," continued Harry. "This is the end of my being at Hogwarts for quite awhile. I was unfortunate to have to face a lot of danger here, but I also had a lot of excitement and adventures. I fear those days are over now."

Harry breathed a deep sigh and was feeling a bit sad until Ginny's sharp voice broke his suddenly melancholy mood.

"Harry James Potter! On your own, you would always find a way to end up with some kind of excitement. Plus you are married to me, you work with Ron and you will always have Hermione nearby. Between the four of us, we will always have as many adventures in the future as you will be able to handle."

A grin slowly spread across Harry's face. Though he had faced much excitement in both the magical and Muggle worlds, he could not imagine what possible new adventures he might face. He picked up his bag, grabbed Ginny's hand and walked over to get Ginny's bag. He gave her a quick kiss, then they disappeared together into a future where perhaps more unknown adventures awaited in a new world.

AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I'll bug my uncle if you like