We're done! Can't quite believe it I'm sure it will sink in in a bit. My longest complete story (happy/very excited dance). I tried to resolve all of the pod and most of their friends or associates in the end, hope it worked well. Got the idea of the crumple horned snorkknack living underground from TemporalKnight's Harry Potter and the Runestone Path, awesome story. Anyway, please review, hope you like the ending!
I own nothing. Well, except Aspasia and its inhabitants so don't touch them please.
Parseltongue.
Chapter 25:
During the third task, Luna, Lusca, Logan, and Blaise sat in a row. As the final challenge drew on, it became a tossup who would break someone's hand first, Lusca or Logan.
Luna and Blaise were constantly reminding them to relax, but it never lasted long. Both were too afraid of remaining death eaters striking now.
When it was over and the cup did not become a portkey or something else equally terrifying, everyone was relieved. The green pod left the stands in a rush to mob Harry at the winner's stage, pulling him off and on to their shoulders as soon as Amelia Bones finished congratulating him.
Later, in the pod's rooms during their party, couples and friends ate and laughed and promised to write.
Rita Skeeter's book on Albus Dumbledore had rakes in the galleons. She was exceptionally pleased, even more so when Ginny, Tracey, Hermione, Susan, and Luna organized exclusives of Dumbledore's misdemeanors at Hogwarts. She had allowed Luna to help, and encouraged the teen's journalism when she saw the results.
Amelia had managed to catch Dumbledore on negligence and abuse of his positions; he had often failed to protect Hogwarts students, failed to look after Harry as was his job as Harry's magical guardian, deliberately sent Sirius to Azkaban through false evidence, and, as it turned out with Veritaserum, used Legitimacy on minors. Of all these only the last to were punishable by more than a minor fine (Gringotts levied their own, he had interfered with them from time to time), and earned Dumbledore ten years in Azkaban. Old as he was, Dumbledore died after seven.
The remaining Death Eaters had been rounded up and sent to spend life sentences in Azkaban. An auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had been elected Minister of Magic. Sirius and Lupin called him a "good enough bloke", so they hoped he'd do well.
Sirius had finally tracked down Regulus. With the Black Lordship back in his grasp the brothers and Lupin decided to spend a month relaxing by the beach in a summer house before getting down to the hard work of cleaning up the Black house.
The pod had transported Makar to Aspasia two weeks ago. From what they heard, the old snake loved it and got along well with his neighboring basilisk.
Having received permission from her mom, Ginny was going to Aspasia over the summer with Harry to see a mind healer. Luna and Blaise would also come for at least part of the summer. Lusca had suggested researching some of Luna's so-called imaginary creatures in Aspasia's library; the school naturally had a very through library when it came to creatures.
Fred Weasley was drinking butterbeer and keeping an eye on the plate of canary cremes. He sat in a wheelchair by the fire, laughing less than he usually did as bending to far back still caused him some pain. The healers had managed to give him most of the feeling in his legs and the full use of his organs (he was relieved he could pee on his own once he sorted out getting out of the chair) but he would never walk again. As the twins did, he focused on the brighter side; he could still create and for that he was relieved.
Also, everyone could tell them apart now, for better or for worse.
George sat next to him and they struck up a conversation with Koren and Kora. If those two didn't go into ward-making, they'd have to see if the other twins were interested in working with them!
Lusca hogging the space in front of the fire. She had found that heat eased the still lingering pain in her tail. She wasn't sure what exactly she had damaged, but Ella was studying physical therapy and was helping her regain her former range of movement. The shapeshifter was also helping Lenora regain strength in her wing.
Long scars crisscrossed Lusca's tail now, four struck across the border between skin and scale. She had been worried about Luna's reaction to them before the seer berated her and said no scar was getting her to leave. Now they were snuggled in front of the fire, watching and relaxing, filled with the joy of a difficult year completed.
Harry and Ginny talked and laughed and tossed grapes in each other's mouths, Logan and Blaise discussed books. Every now and then the triplets glanced over to each other, a silent reassurance.
Nineteen Years Later:
"Almost late." Ginny teased Fred when he wheeled into the station.
"Slept in, breakfast burnt, just one of those mornings." He answered.
"George and Angelica minding the shop?" She smiled at Taylor and Alex, George's and Angelica's twin daughters, who grinned back and ran to hug Ginny's daughter Lily.
"Of course."
"Going to propose to Alicia yet?"
Fred muttered something noncommittal and she rolled her eyes.
Ginny waved to Ron who waved back then continued warning his son Hugo to mind his rat. Ron had shaped up over the course of a few years so that he was on friendly terms with Ginny, though they'd lost the closeness of children long ago. He'd married Lavender Brown and gone into the aurors, while Lavender worked in and had greatly improved the goblin liaison office. Both their sons were make-up experts. Hugo at twelve openly gossiped while fifteen-year old Gideon might make his living as a blackmailer one day.
Ginny and Harry had debated whether to send their children to Hogwarts or Aspasia. Eventually, they had simply taken their children on a tour of each school the year before and let them choose. Lily had her own choice to make this year. Their oldest, James, had chosen Hogwarts, but Arthur upon discovering his knack for Parselmagic and the beautiful hills of Ireland, went to Aspasia. He had already left for this year.
Harry had taken up the Potter lordship and was working to change the laws regarding creatures in Britain. He was making good headway, helped the backing of multiple powerful houses.
The Blacks and the Malfoys were of big help pushing the dark sector. Draco had taken up Severus's post as potions teacher (and was doing a much better job, Severus had never liked teaching). He had learned to support more than pureblood wizards in his time and the son he had with Astoria Greengrass was a good friend of James's.
Ginny was also teaching at Hogwarts, Care of Magical Creatures. The book she co-authored with Luna was doing well, and when Luna and Lusca were in the country Ginny sometimes asked them in for special lessons. They had finally found the crumple horned snorklack, turns out it was a subterranean creature and utterly adorable. When they weren't helping Ginny teach they were searching for, studying, and befriending other creatures, though they had a nice cottage in Ireland.
They had a son, a young boy they'd found in America, abandoned by his wizarding parents for his habit of spontaneously setting things on fire and large wings. As it turned out he was a draken, and Luna and Lusca homeschooled him as they traveled, though the rest of the pod contributed their own lessons.
Logan and Blaise, well they were assassins from time to time but mostly they developed and sold antidotes to a wide variety of toxins. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what they taught their children, two girls and a boy they'd collected on their travels; a selkie, a werewolf, and a wereleopard, but they were some of the nicest kids until pissed. When they weren't traveling, they lived in Italy.
Lorah had married Victor Krum and she had begun a company that exported plants, magical and otherwise, all around Europe. It was going very well. Neville, now Hogwarts's Herbology teacher, and Marline, who'd excepted his proposal eight years ago, bought from her often. Marline had taken over from Madame Pomphrey, and together she and Neville had managed some interesting hybrids, though Neville kept a promise he'd made at their engagement, and went with her to the sea every year.
Connor and Susan had two sons at Aspasia though they both worked in the Ministry. Ella and Abner were teaching at Aspasia. Ella had married Seamus Finnigan and they were expecting their first child.
Laurence had to the surprise of everyone who did not know him opened a café in Bulgaria, near where his sister lived. He was currently dating a young man by the name of Adric Volkov, cousin to one of Krum's former team members. Given that this had been going on for nearly a year, the pod was resolved to meet him.
Lenora had gone to Canada years ago, but kept in contact. Koren and Kora helped Fred and George with their inventions from time to time but were employed by Gringotts as ward-breakers. They got along well with the goblins.
Tracey had taken over History of Magic and Hermione had taken Muggle Studies. Sal sold sculptures in the muggle world and stones for magic in the wizarding one. The two had adopted two muggle-borns whose parents had proved less than receptive to magic a few years ago and now the girls were blossoming.
Fleur married Theodore Nott and working in the French government the pair had succeeded in strengthening ties between Britain and France.
Emma and Helena were still at Aspasia. All the pod had grown before they were given they care of more children. This group was called the ink pod (a name originating from a catastrophe involving most of the members and several bottles of ink).
The green pod and its friends kept in contact, met up with each other with varying frequency, and together taught and sent their part of the new generation into the world. As Ginny watched the scarlet steam engine pull out of the station she thought that so far, they'd done rather well.