Chapter 18:

The music stopped so suddenly it seemed like he went deaf. The gathering of witches and wizards around them froze in a picture of disbelief, no one quite sure what to make of the heavily injured duo.

Harry's face twisted into a frown, anger growing in their silence. "Help him!" he all but yelled and it was enough to send everyone into motion. Dumbledore rushed forward and showed speed remarkable for someone his age, reaching the first with wand already in hand, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey quickly behind him. Harry swallowed and sat back on the grass as he watched Natsu carried away with levitation charms and Mira, who burst from the labyrinth, ran after them gnawing her lower lip.

A hand roughly grabbed his forearm and pulled him to his feet making Harry yelp and try to pull himself free. "Stay still" the voice was that slow, clipped tone that made Harry both tense and relax at the same time if it was possible. Snape's black eyes bore down on him as he dragged Harry away from the crowd, providing a shield against the sudden rush of curious witches and wizards that turned their attention towards him when Natsu disappeared inside the walls. Cedric walked quickly behind them, wand in hand and eyes full of alert.

"Whe-?"

"Somewhere where those fools like Skeeter won't be able to follow. You are injured as well, Potter. It would do no one no good if you passed out in the middle of the field" Snape snapped, his voice carrying a hint of annoyance and a trace of anger and Harry fell silent for a moment before he remembered what he just saw.

"Voldemort -"

Snape's eyes widened and he stopped, Cedric almost let go of his wand at the words, his rushing feet stopping in the dirt.

"What?" Snape asked carefully.

"I - he.. He's back.. or he was.. I don't know but he was there- alive and.. there was this other wizard - Professor Dragneel knew him - Zeref"

The potion master went pale as bone, turning abruptly to a confused and horrified Cedric. "Mr. Diggory, I believe I saw your father earlier. I'm sure he would like to make sure you're okay"

Cedric opened his mouth to reply, object to what was obviously Snape sending him away but his mouth produced no sound and he closed them with a snap at the look in Snape's eyes. "Of course" Cedric gave a curt nod to Snape and what probably should have been a reassuring smile to Harry (though it looked more like a grimace) and with that, he was gone. Harry barely stopped himself from bolting after the boy a second later when Snape's eyes snapped back at him. ''Now, don't say another word, Potter. We need to find the headmaster and then you'll tell us what happened. I'm sure he won't be far from the hospital wing if the state Dragneel was in is any indication''

The large double doors of the hospital wings were closed and in front of them stood four familiar – and to Harry very welcome faces. Severus frowned in disdain at the sight of Sirius and Remus while Hermione and Ron rushed to Harry, Hermione hugging the boy tightly and Ron giving him a friendly fist-bump in the shoulder a moment later when he realized Hermione decided to stay glued to the red-faced Harry whose ears burned bright red.

''Black'', Snape spoke after a moment of silence, looking at the thin man down his long nose. Sirius gave a nasty smirk, rivalry born in school – if it could be called rivalry – still burning brightly after all these years. Remus gave a curt nod before the remaining two marauders looked back at Harry who was released from Hermione and was promptly hugged by his godfather. ''I'm glad you're okay, kiddo'', Sirius informed him with a warm smile, worried eyes searching his frame. Harry gave a tired smile in return. ''It was rough but I'm fine. How is -?''

''He's going to be fine,'' Remus interrupted and Hermione nodded in agreement. ''Madam Pomfrey was surprised at how well he was holding considering the wounds''

''Sting just shrugged it off and told her Natsu looked worse than that,'' Ron muttered, eyes darting to the closed doors. Harry swallowed and blinked while Hermione looked a little green. Worse than that? His musings were interrupted by Remus who placed a hand on his shoulder, looking down at him for a brief second before he finally spoke. ''What happened, Harry?''

''We came here to inform Albus of that, he's inside I presume?'', Snape asked, his words coming out in the usual crisp and clipped drawl – the man was most certainly not impressed with being ignored. Ron nodded, looking at Snape with narrowed eyes. ''Yes, professor.. Though they said we had to wait outside until Madam Pomfrey finished –'', Ron swallowed, a funny look crossing his face before he continued, ''- regrowing his ear or whatnot...''

''You can regrow that?'', a new voice joined their conversation and every head in the corridor turned to look at Sting who stood there, looking in his right mind again though his appearance was a lot more roughed up than what Harry remembered. ''Awesome,'' the man continued with a grin and Harry blinked again but it was Hermione who spoke first. ''How are you not worried?!''

Sting paused like he was actually thinking about the answer before shrugging. ''As I told you before, little miss, he had it worse than that before and he pulled through – true he did keep all his appendages last time but from what I just heard he won't miss them for long. Natsu's tough''

'And I wouldn't be surprised if he was immortal as well', Sting mused, a smirk stretching his lips. 'The fire-breathing menace'

Their conversation was interrupted by the doors of the infirmary opening, McGonagall standing by the doors with a serious face. ''Mr. Potter, Severus, Professor Otho. You can come inside. The rest of you –'' Minerva looked at the gathered faces before sighing. ''- I'd say stay outside but I somehow doubt I could stop you''

Stopping any of the four Gryffindors proved to be a useless endeavor years ago if they truly set their minds into it and the looks on their faces told her enough to know they had no plan on staying outside for this conversation. The four were grinning like a Cheshire cat.

The group entered the large chamber, immediately spotting the already awake Natsu wrapped in enough bandages one could mistake him for a mummy-in-progress. Mira was holding one of his hands in a tight grip, their fingers interlaced and the man that should by all rights be unconscious grinned at the group even though the look was strained. Dumbledore stood at the foot of the bed, his face serious as well and Pomfrey looked halfway into objecting to such a large crowd in her wing. A look from Minerva made poor Poppy roll her eyes and toss her hands in the air, gathering what was left of the potions and bandages and moving them to her cabinet with a flick of her wand.

''Now –'', Dumbledore started. ''I believe we all want to know what happened''

Natsu and Harry shared a look and with a trembling sigh, Harry spoke. ''We took the handles of the cup...''

Dumbledore looked quite disturbed by the news – no surprise there, truly and every other member of the wizarding world of Great Britain looked several shades paler while Sting and Mira looked far more disturbed than they were at the mention that Zeref was present as well. ''This could have ended very badly,'' Dumbledore spoke gravely and Minerva could only nod in agreement as did the others, as she took hold of the bed-frame of the bed Pomfrey forced Harry to sit in. ''You have my eternal gratitude, Mr. Dragneel,'' Dumbledore continued. ''I dread to think what would happen have you not been there,'' several eyes looked at Harry who chewed his bottom lip.

''But You-Know-Who is dead now, right?'', Hermione asked after a moment, looking at the headmaster hopefully. ''No one could've survived that,'' she turned to Harry, ''You said so yourself''

''He might be dead,'' Natsu agreed after a long pause. Eyes moving back to Dumbledore who looked just as grim as he felt. ''But this proves he can be brought back''

''But now we know that,'' Sirius slammed his fist into Natsu's bed, a look of determination settling on his face, a nasty smile spreading his lips. ''Now we know he is coming and we know who his followers are. We know what he needs and I'm sure we can find a way how he came back this time and make sure it was the last. He used his element of surprise and he failed spectacularly''

All it was needed was a spark to start a fire. Hope was a powerful thing.

Harry nodded in agreement. ''Even if he came back we know he can die. And sooner or later he'll run out of lives. We now have time to prepare. His followers will run back to their holes but we know exactly who they are. The ministry won't be able to ignore this, not after the crater we left behind. Next time Voldemort shows his face again we will be ready''

Natsu grinned, hands lighting up in flames. ''Oh, he won't know what hit him''

Mira smirked, raising her chin, one hand moving to ruffle Natsu's hair and his grin widened. ''I'm all fired up''

The Hogwarts Express whistled one final time, signaling that it was about to start down the familiar road towards King's Cross. Sitting back in the compartment after everything that happened seemed surreal to Harry. He was practically hanging from the window, looking down at Natsu, Mira, and Sting – the two staying behind even after Beauxbatons and Durmstrang left. They will be soon returning to wherever they came from, their job complete. ''Take care, Harry,'' Natsu said, one hand still held in the cast and his ear and head wrapped in white bandages. Harry smiled, wondering why this sounded so final. ''Will you ever come back?'', Hermione asked over his shoulder, looking down the window at the three mages.

Natsu grinned, showing all his teeth, ''Who knows? Maybe I will''

Hermione sniffed, a happy smile on her lips and the train whistled again, lurching back and making the three standing in their compartment almost lose their balance as it started moving. ''You better come back next year, professor,'' Ron yelled, a grin on his own face. ''It would be terribly dull without you''

Laughter bubbled from their lips and Harry gave a friendly push with his elbow in Ron's ribs. ''Like it was dull before''

''Ah but I know how to make life-threatening situations blow up in the most spectacular way possible, dear Harry,'' Natsu informed him and received a sharp elbow in his own ribs for the efforts thanks to Mira. ''One day it will blow up in your own face,'' she joked, grasping the front of his shirt and pulling him down in a kiss. Sting pulled a face before turning to the constantly shrinking forms of the Golden Trio. He waved with one hand, the other cupping his mouth. ''I'm sure we'll see each other again!''

Natsu, in a show of surprising agility and skill for someone with a broken hand and several ribs, picked Mira and onto his shoulders much to her own shock, quickly shouting at the trio while Mira waved from her newfound perch. ''GOODBYE!''

The train took a turn and the Golden Trio disappeared from view. Sting looked at the two just in time to see Mira push herself to the ground which made Natsu stumble and laugh. ''We should totally make a school like Hogwarts back in Fiore,'' Sting mused as they started making their way back to the school and ultimately the Portkey home. Natsu lit up at the idea – quite literally as fire burst along his frame from the thought – and nodded vigorously. ''Oh it would be brilliant! Imagine, just like Hogwarts''

''I could do without mortal peril,'' Mira laughed. ''But it isn't a bad idea''

''You think we could put a basilisk in the basement – Harry mentioned they used to have one in Hogwarts,'' Natsu scratched his chin and Sting released a sound through his closed mouth. ''Don't be ridiculous –'' Mira nodded in agreement, that wouldn't do next to children. ''There are no basilisks in Fiore. Maybe Kinana knows of any giants snakes willing to live in a basement, though. She did spend her fair share of time as a giant flying snake, right?''

Natsu nodded in agreement. ''If nothing else we could stuck Erik there if Jellal doesn't need him anymore''

Mira shook her head. Boys. A fond smile spread her lips as she looked at Hogwarts, the large castle looked the same as it did this morning but Mira knew the halls were now empty. There was a certain appeal to having a school like this in Fiore. ''It would certainly be worth trying''

''I have no intention of trying,'' Natsu informed her with a grin. ''I plan on doing it''

Mira laughed, stealing another kiss from the pink-haired wizard who hugged her as best as he could with his one arm. She melted into the embrace, resting her chin on his shoulder, looking up at the bright sky.

''You think we'll come back here? Their war seems to just be beginning, they might need our help''

Natsu's arms tightened and she could see Sting's face hardening. It wasn't a second later when Natsu nodded. ''I sure hope we'll come back but unless Dumbledore comes to get us with another portkey I don't think there'll be much choice''

''But you want to?''

''Of course. If nothing else it will be one hell of a fight''

Mira smiled and Natsu grinned at her. ''And what kind of Fairy Tail wizards would we be if we didn't enter one hell of a fight?''

''And Sabertooth as well!''

''Not worthy of the title,'' Natsu replied easily with a shrug and turned back to the castle. ''But right now it's time to go home. It's been months since I set foot into the guild''

Mira nodded, ''Home sounds nice''

THE END.

Oh My God... I have a feeling this took too long for how bad it turned out. Bear in mind I once again should've long since been in bed and sleeping. I'll probably give the chapter another look once I'll be able to read it without having to read the same sentence three times. Despite how I am not particularly happy with this chapter a part of me is happy with the outcome, all things considered. I can't believe I finished this. I am truly having a hard time believing it. I mean... dear lord, I'm done with my first story (Well, second but first I finished anyway)! It feels like saying goodbye.

It seemed like it was a long time coming, too long. I hope all of you are happy with how this story turned out. Thank you all for sticking up with me and my (not)updating. Thank you for all the following and favorite buttons you pressed. I know I don't respond to all reviews like many authors do but that doesn't mean I don't read them and I cherish every one of them. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I can't believe it's been over three years since I started writing this. I was just starting my high school at the time and now I'm near the end of it. Probably noticeable in the way my writing changed over the chapters.

The pool from the previous chapter is still going, mind you and it will be so until I declare a winner in one of the next chapters of Story of Black dragon's child. Two entered the final round, so to speak;

1. Harry Potter (Harry isn't the boy-who-lived and Harry is in Slytherin)

3. Skyrim and Witcher Crossover (Dragonborn gets kidnapped and ends up in Tameria where he meets Geralt) – this one is winning so far.

I don't know what else to say so... good luck to all of you. I'm sure some of you wonder if this story will have a sequel and by the way, I finished it you might think there will be but I don't know that and if I ever find out you'll be the first to know. I want to know everything, from your favorite moment to your most dreadful one, what you think of this story, of this chapter? Please review and thanks for reading, you all wonderful people!

This is it.

The end of Professor Dragneel, at Hogwarts.

To the next great adventure, I guess :)