Epilogue: The Boy Who Lived

Nothing lasts forever, especially good things. Grant and Jacinto both confirmed that they were being sent off to Hogwarts again; their parents' respective enemies were just too well entrenched at the local schools, etc, etc. If they were ambivalent about it, they didn't convey it in the Journal.

Summer came to an end too fast, and though I was eager to see my friends at Hogwarts again, to get away from the restrictions on underage magic use and the wary eyes of my parents, who forbade magic in their house as if it weren't already against the law, I didn't want to leave them alone and let them get dragged back into their fear for me.

The odd thing was, they never chose a new church. They went to a few services, (though I opted out thanks to sheer moral terror), but they never seemed satisfied with the places they went. It seemed their faith in God hadn't been weakened, but their trust in their fellow human beings had been irreparably scarred. And they in turn scarred Rupert's family, not telling them of Hogwarts but making it clear the implicit menace in Pastor Wilkins' interest in the so-called 'rumors' about me joining a cult. In the end, they left the church too. Given all that, I hated having to keep Rupert in the dark while I went away for another six months, but that was the law.

Staring at the newspaper in front of me, the snarling face of Sirius Black on the front, I wondered if my parents weren't on to something losing faith in humanity. His name: Black—the same name that both Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Neithercut had once shared, conjured ideas of his motives, his reasons for killing those twelve Muggles, though the paper said nothing about him being a Death Eater.

Amanda sat down beside me, placing two sundaes on the table. I finally got to meet Florean Fortescue shopping for my school books this year, and he was far kinder than the crotchety old woman who'd served me ice cream a year ago.

"Something's never felt right about that," Amanda said. I looked at her blankly for a minute, until she pointed at the copy of the Daily Prophet. "I knew him, Sirius Black. Not well, but I can hardly believe he'd have committed those murders. But there was an eyewitness: the minister of magic himself."

"It says he escaped from something called Azkaban. What's that?"

Amanda shuddered. "A prison. Awful place that makes Muggle jails look like a spa day."

"Man," I said. "Even if he didn't kill those people back in then, twelve years in a place would probably make him a raving lunatic. I hope they catch him."

"It would put a lot of people at ease if they did," Amanda said. "I need to stop at Gringotts to make a withdrawal. You'll be fine here for a bit, dear?"

"I think I'll manage," I said before shoving another spoon full of ice cream into my mouth. When Amanda slipped through the doors of the bank and out of sight, I turned my attention to the checklist of things I'd need for this year of school. It looked like it would be pretty pricey, and though my parents were no longer making with the guilt trips, they still wouldn't contribute any money to my schooling. I wished I didn't have to be a burden on Amanda, but she never complained about it.

I finished my sundae and went to return the bowl and spoon, but my eyes were so focused on the shop that I didn't notice I was stepping out in front of someone until he collided with me. Both his bowl and mine clattered to the ground, though one of them rolling across his foot and depositing chocolate ice cream stains on his jeans, which seemed a mite too big for him.

I grabbed an unused napkin from my table and started wiping the stain off as I stood up, apologizing.

"I'm really sorry," I said. "I should have paid more atten—"

I stopped mid-sentence when I saw the scar on his forehead, half covered by streaks of dark hair.

"It's alright, really," he said. "I could have been more careful too."

"Whoa," I said. "You. You're Harry Potter."

Harry's cheeks reddened and he turned away. Quietly, he said, "Yeah."

"I'm sorry I just… I've seen you at the Dueling Club last year, but we've never actually spoken." I extended a hand. It wasn't every day I got to meet cute with someone famous. "Michelle Coplin."

Harry took my hand and shook it, though he still seemed more embarrassed than anything. He wasn't at all what I was expecting, given that he'd taken on Voldemort three times and won.

"I knew you looked familiar," Harry said, as we both deposited our bowls at the counter and Florean took them to be washed. "You're a Slytherin aren't you? I'm surprised you don't hate my guts."

"Not everyone in Slytherin is like Malfoy," I said. "Though I could see how you'd get that impression. I'm actually Muggleborn myself."

Harry Potter's eyes widened. "That sounds awful. I can't imagine. It must be hard now that summer's nearly over."

"I got by last year," I said. "I know it will be hard, but I'm eager to go back. I think I can help all the Muggleborns at school by showing Slytherins that we're not what their parents say we are."

"Wow, with that attitude you might just change the house," Harry said, though he sounded very skeptical. "It was good talking to you, anyway. I have to get back to this homework, though. I have no idea what a Thestral even is and I have to write an essay what potions their pituitary glands are good for."

"Good luck with that. And sorry again for ruining your jeans," I said. I waited by the counter for Harry to get back to his table. He continued working, and if he gave our talk a second thought, he didn't give any indication. It dawned on me how awkward it must have been to be celebrated and famous for something that you did by accident as an infant. From what I'd heard, Harry hadn't even grown up knowing he was a wizard. It must have all been as much a culture shock to him as it had been to me.

The fact that he wasn't nearly as arrogant as I'd been lead to believe seemed all the more amazing.

I left the ice cream shop and joined Amanda as she was leaving the bank (the Goblins creeped me out, so I refused to go inside.) Her satchel was full of coins now, and as we set off toward the book shop, I told her about my encounter with Potter.

"I think what's most remarkable is how everyone acts like he beat Voldemort himself," Amanda said. I looked around for anyone offended by the use of his name, but I guess nobody had heard her. "I have no doubt in my mind that it was his mother that actually did it."

"His mother?" I said.

"Lily Potter. She saved my life once, during the war. When Paul was killed I went off half-cocked looking for Amycus Carrow. I found Antonin Dolohov instead. He was the Dark Lord's enforcer and torturer. He killed Molly Weasley's brothers, two of the most skilled wizards in England. Alone, I was out-matched, but Lily had followed me. She said she knew what I was going to do because she'd have done the same thing if James had been killed."

We both stopped in front of the book store. Amanda rested a hand on my shoulder.

"She was a bit younger than me, but she was brilliant. We overpowered Dolohov together, and thanks to wounds she gave him, he was soon captured and sent to Azkaban. So I have no doubt that Lily was responsible for You-Know-Who's demise, even if she didn't survive to take the credit."

"Her name was Lily?" I said, remembering the old binder from the Sunday I spent in the hospital wing. "Was she by any chance Lily Evans before she got married?"

Amanda paused mid motion. "Yes. How did you know that?"

I looked back at the ice cream shop. I could no longer see Harry Potter, but I knew he was still there, and I knew that through her work, future lives would be saved. The Wizarding World was so interconnected, and there were so few of us compared to Muggles. It made no sense to waste life on petty wars, and for the first time I thought I could see the hand of Providence in everything that had transpired, not just in the past year for me, but through my life, and Amanda's, and Harry Potter's up until then. And I knew things would work out, somehow.

I smiled at Amanda.

"Lily Evans saved my life too."

A/N: And so after 6.5 years I have finally finished this story. Anyone and everyone who awaited patiently for updates, all I can say is Thank You, and I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long. This is the end of 'Suffer' but it's not the end of Michelle's story. Author Subscribe to me if you haven't so you'll know when I post the follow-up, 'Daring Adventures of the Young Defenders'.