Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter, they belong to Noriaki "Tite" Kubo and J.K. Rowling respectively. I make no profit from this fanfiction, well, besides the joy I find in writing it. =3

AN: Sorry about the long wait. Between a rough pregnancy and studying for my nursing board test, it's been an eventful few months. Thanks for being so patient! ^_^

Key:

Talking- "I'm speaking."

Thinking - 'I am thinking'

For this chapter, speaking in the afterlife shouldn't need a separate form for languages since I believe everyone would be able to understand each other there.

~ CH 28 - Epilogue ~

'Eight years... Has it really been that long?' Hermione thought to herself.

She had merely meant to make a quick stop by Diagon Alley for her husband. He was busy with his latest potions experiment and unwilling to put it under a stasis spell to fetch more supplies. Merlin knew she loved the man, but he could be worse with his potions than she was with her research. That was all besides the point now though. That bloody statue had brought her feet and her mind to a halt.

How could she have lost track of the date? Tomorrow would mark the eighth anniversary of Voldemort's defeat... and the final death of her best friend. It's funny how you can go so long without the feeling of loss bothering you and then, wham, it strikes you like a snake from the shadows. It seemed to wait for the most obscure moments to do it to. Due to this unexpected tug on her emotions, Hermione decided to take a moment for herself.

She gave a quick glance around to see if anyone had spotted her. no one seemed to be paying her any special attention however. Thank goodness she took to wearing a hooded robe during her forays into Diagon Alley or she would never have been afforded the privacy this kind of moment called for. Coast clear, she took tentative steps towards the monument that had triggered her memory and emotions.

The statue its self was like most wizarding monuments, over done and needlessly inaccurate. Well, at least the got Harry's likeness rather well in the face. With all the references from old news articles, Hermione would be surprised if they got that part wrong. She supposed it was the striking likeness that had caught her in the first place. She usually avoided looking at it when she did come here, but her carful vigilance of avoidance must have slipped this last time.

Most would probably wonder why someone would avoid the monument dedicated to their best friend, but it all leads back to the earlier description of the statue. The inaccuracy of everything, save the face, was almost like looking at a mockery of her friends sacrifice. Oh, the artist tried to capture they gist of it, but this statue reflected the myth and not the truth. Add in a splash of 'make it look nicer than it was' and there you have it.

Harry, the brave man who had defied death to save them, had been given a form so opposite of what his final 'true' form had been, it was an injustice. Angel wings! She scoffed in sullen amusement. It was a wonder anything accurate ever made from one generation of wizarding to the next. Harry, adorned with angel wings, stood with a foot on the chest of a fallen wizard who sported a skeletal face. Obviously the defeated opponent was Voldemort, but the likeness wasn't very good. In Harry's right hand, he held the Sword of Gryffindor pointed to riddles neck. Yet another embellishment to add onto the list. In Harry's other hand, he held a wand pointing to his left and into the face of probably the biggest lie of the whole thing. There, hooded cowl and all, stood death in the well known guise of the grim reaper.

Hermione shook her head and felt her spirit lift slightly at the ridiculousness of it all. Thinking of what her friend would have done to the statue if he saw it even brought a small smile to her lips. Green light and a smoking crater would be the most likely result. This thought had her looking back to the face of the statue's hero. Again, the likeness struck her and her smile dimmed.

Hermione reached out a hand to touch the base as she sent her prayers to him, where ever he may be. As she stood there, an older witch brought what appeared to be her granddaughter close to the golden monument.

"Do you know who that is?" came the kindly voice of the old witch.

The young girl's eyes widened a bit and she smiled excitedly at her grandmother. "Is that him Gran? Is that the Savior?"

"You smart little girl, how did you know?" the grandmother asked playfully. "Did your daddy get to show you this before I did?"

"Gran," the childish voice said in exasperation, "how many people have wings and fight death?"

Hermione sighed and turned away from the statue and the duo. She was not about to sit through another discussion on which ever version of Harry these two followed. Though, by their tone, it sounded as though they leaned toward the one seeing Harry in a favorable light. It didn't matter though, they were all a little ridiculous in her opinion. This was another tendency of the wizarding world that annoyed her. Not only did they warp the truth of what happened, but their hero worship was near cult like. And, of course, where their is someone with one opinion there was always one with an opposing one.

Due to the confusion of what happened at the end of 'The Battle of Burning Skys' and the leak of information naming the strangers in black as 'soul reapers', two main theories had popped up among witches and wizards. One theory, for the people like the two she had just left behind, Harry was symbol of good and righteousness. It was a sentiment that Hermione could at least approve of. However, it was becoming a little extreme.

Some believed Harry had somehow outsmarted death himself, like the third Peverell brother so long ago, to come back and save them. Others believed Headmaster Dumbledore had made a deal with Death to somehow borrow him, thanks to his brief conversation with the Soul Reapers before they left. Either way, it ended the same. With his task done Death had sent his minions to collect Harry. Harry, being the righteous figure he was, tricked these minions into only taking him and not others as well for payment.

Not too bad a story, in and of it's self, but it was the fervor with which some took to it that made it unhealthy in Hermione's opinion. In fact, she wouldn't be at all surprised if they officially named it a religion in the near future. 'Church of the Savior' or some such nonsense. This unfortunately had her singled out as some sort of bloody disciple or something. Hence the hooded cloak in crowded places. Ron, on the other hand, took to the publicity like a duck to water and she would let him have it.

Now as for the other side to the argument, mostly from the pureblooded or dark wizards, Harry was thought of as a demon or a monster. Terms Hermione hated after spending so much time trying to convince her friend he wasn't one of those. This sect of society thought Harry was some devilish fiend that broke free from hell and the Soul Reapers actually did a service to the living by 'dragging him back to hell where he belonged'. Well shit on the people who thought that, was Hermione's opinion. As if to add insult to injury, she had even caught wind from one of her acquaintances that the darker pure bloods that were left used Harry like some sort of boogie man to keep their children in line.

She was so bogged down on her analytical breakdown of the theological fallacies of her own society, that she nearly cursed the person that grabbed her arm. Easing her hand away from where she kept her wand and trying to slow her thudding heart, she frowned at the petite asian woman before her. Like her, the woman was wearing a hood to hide her identity. Hermione took a surreptitious glance around before acknowledging the woman.

"Rukia," she said in a harsh whisper as she led them to a side alley, "you should know better than to grab me like that. I nearly cursed your arm off."

Rukia raised an eyebrow at her. "Well I tried to call your name without gaining attention, but you seemed lost in thought."

Hermione was chagrined. "Yes well, what did you need?" She covered quickly. "I know you don't come here often. Is it your rotation again already?" As it turns out, the 'burning skys' part of the final battle had actually been the destruction of anti-hollow wards due to Harry's massive power surge causing a sort of overload. Now, with the innate protection gone, Soul Society had added England and Scotland back on their routine areas.

"Unfortunately yes, but since I'm here anyways I thought I'd say hello. I sensed you nearby and decided to get an update on how everything is going for you. I know you probably don't like this time of year and all..." she trailed off.

Hermione gave her a small smile. "Thank you Rukia. It's kind of you to worry about me, but I'm fine. Really." She tried to sound convincing at least. "How are things going for you and your friends?"

Rukia shifted to lean against the brick wall of the building they were next to and folded her arms. "Nothing too ground breaking lately."

"What about Orihime?" Hermione asked after her friend. "I haven't heard from her in a while. Has she had any success yet?" Hermione doubted that she wouldn't have found out by now if the girl had completed her self appointed quest, but one could always hope.

Rukia sighed. "The poor girl is back out there every chance she gets. She's lucky her and her little accomplice haven't been caught by the higher ups yet. They don't exactly like the idea of the living roaming around Rukongai whenever they please."

Hermione smiled fondly at the thought of at least one friend found. "And how is Ginny doing these days? Did she finally graduate?"

"Yeah," she huffed in amusement. "And you'll never guess were they put her."

Hermione had a basic understanding of the 'Gotei 13' as they were called, but she only knew the details of a couple of the devisions. "Is she in your division?" She guessed.

"Ha, no. The crazy witch got herself put into the eleventh!"

Hermione didn't know if she should laugh or groan. After housing Ikkaku a year ago, that was definitely one of the divisions she knew about. "Well," she finally said, "that's... surprising."

"Not if you've seen her the last couple of years. That girl really came out of her shell from what I've heard."

"Did she give the boys at the academy a run for their money?" Hermione smiled fondly at the thought of her friend flourishing in the afterlife.

Rukia gave an unladylike snort. "Beet the snot out of them more like. Speaking of gingers though, last time I saw her and Orihime they seemed rather excited about their latest lead."

"Oh?" Hermione felt some hope, but didn't want to allow herself to become too excited. They had been let down before.

"Something about a new orphanage in the Rukongai," she continued. "I hope they finally find what they're looking for. I don't want to see those poor girls get let down again. It's heartbreaking to watch."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed softly. She knew how they felt. She may not be able to go and search like them, but she still felt each disappointment sharply. They still didn't know for sure if Harry would even end up there or go on into oblivion. Hollows may be purified and sent on by the blade of a soul reaper, but Harry wasn't a true hollow when he had died. "So," Hermione continued on to change the topic, "how is Ichigo doing?" She gave the petite Soul Reaper a knowing smirk, trying to lighten her own mood as well as the conversation.

Much to the witch's amusement, Rukia blushed. Funny that she could make a woman many many years her senior blush like a school girl. "He's fine," she pouted after realizing she blushed. Then she took on a devious smirk of her own. "The more important question is how that new husband of yours is doing." She paused and poked Hermione in the side. "Tell me, do you two every play the teacher and the naughty school girl?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to feel her cheeks heat up. "Rukia!" She hissed at the cackling woman. Faces began looking at the hooded duo due to their racket and Hermione groaned. "Now you've done it. We're going to draw a crowd," she complained as she began herding the still chuckling woman further along.

"But your face was totally worth it."

Hermione sighed, cheeks still warm. 'What a strange day it was turning out to be,' she thought.

Ginny sighed as they came to yet another dead end in the path. "Maybe we should just turn back and try again later," she finally said to her traveling companion. "I mean... we've already taken longer on this trip than usual, so..." she trailed off as Orihime's face fell.

"Please," Orihime began, "just one more path. We're close, I just know it. He has to be somewhere nearby."

Ginny gave her a kind smile. "Orihime, we don't even know if it's him yet."

"Could it be anyone else?" Orihime retorted. " 'A kind young man with black hair and green eyes who comes to collect orphans and bring them somewhere safe.' From what I have learned from you, he was an orphan and I think it fits perfectly." She was to stubborn and afraid to admit it might be anyone else... or even a long shot for that matter. They had already been let down to many times. This just had to be the one lead that would bring her to Harry-kun again.

"Alright," Ginny conceded, "but just one more. After that, if we don't find this 'hidden orphanage', we're heading back. We can always try again. Just because we don't find it this time doesn't mean the lead is a complete bust."

Orihime was nodding vigorously at Ginny, agreeing to whatever the girl was saying, but really she had stopped listening after 'alright.' She was just excited they hadn't stopped yet.

"Lets go then," the young soul reaper said, leading them back the way they came. "We'll have to find the main path again so we can take a different split." They had covered a lot of ground, but there was still so much more to go. Hisui no mori, or the 33rd district of Northern Rukongai, was quite the sprawling district. They made good time, though, and before they knew it they were in front of yet another fork in the road.

"Which way?" Orihime asked, but Ginny shook her head.

"You pick this time. My luck has been atrocious."

Orihime looked from left to right and back again. The paths looked identical in consistency. Neither was more welcoming or forbidding than the other and both were just as lush and green as all the other trails the had tried. Finally she made up her mind and picked left. She had alway like going left, so left it would be.

It was quite a bit later that Orihime was beginning to loose heart. 'Perhaps left wasn't such a good choice after all,' she thought to herself.

Ginny must have seen something in her expression because the other red head suddenly slapped her heartily on the back. "Don't go all glum on me now princess," she said in a teasing tone. "Look at the bright side, at least we haven't hit a dead end yet."

The fairy mistress appreciated the her kind words of encouragement, but she couldn't stop the gnaw of worry in her gut that this might just be a wild goose chase once again. Not wanting to let the depressing thought over take her, she patted her cheeks sharply to snap herself out of her funk and picked up her pace.

"That'a girl," cheered Ginny. "We can't have you turn all gloomy or who would keep me going?" She continued, still trying to lighten the mood.

"I think that, even without me, you would still be looking despite the let downs."

"Eh," Ginny shrugged, "maybe, but it would be sooo much more boring to do it alone."

Orihime laughed at the girl's put upon look. "Then lets use our partnership to pass the time."

"How?"

"Talking silly," said Orihime. "We haven't really talked much this trip."

"I guess we haven't, but what more is their to talk about? With all of our past rip conversations, I do believe we've run the well dry."

"Hm," Orihime brought a finger to her lip as she thought. "Oh, I know. How about something new? Like from your division."

Ginny cocked a brow, "Like what?"

"Well," Orihime blushed just a little, "What about that one guy who was fallowing you around 'like a lost puppy'?" That had been Ginny's description, not her's.

"Quiet!" was the quick response as Ginny stopped in her tracks.

Orihime was a little surprised and even a little worried by the sharp rebuff. She hadn't meant to upset her friend. "I'm sor..." she began to apologize, but Ginny cut her off again.

"No, really... Listen." She said in a hush.

So Orihime strained her ears for whatever sound her friend had caught. It took a moment, but then she heard it to. "Laughing," she said in wonder.

"More importantly," Ginny continued with a smirk, "a kid's laughter. Come on!" She prompted and dove into the underbrush of the forest. "It's coming from this way."

Butterflies instantly began fluttering in Orihime's stomach at the anticipation of possibly finding their quarry after so long. It was swiftly followed by the fear of another let down and she felt her pace slowing. Ginny must have noticed her companion lagging because she turned to look at her in concern. Orihime shook herself out of it and took off again with the red headed soul reaper.

The trees came to an abrupt end at the edge of a clearing and both girls paused at the edge at the sight that greeted them. There were several children playing around a decent sized cabin. It looked as though they had found their hidden orphanage, but where was the care taker? One of the kids who had been chasing a ball in their direction suddenly saw them and stopped in his tracks. The little guy looked no older than 4 and he was staring at them wide eyed.

Trying to assure them they meant no harm, Orihime crouched down and smiled at him. Before she could even say anything, however, the little boy turned and ran back to the cabin an inside. Huh. Orihime turned to look at Ginny, but she shrugged in return. Orihime barely had time to stand up before she heard a sound that nearly made her swoon and sent her heart into her throat.

"Yes, yes Yoshi, I'm coming, I'm coming." There was no mistaking that voice and it was only a half of a heartbeat latter that the voice was matched to a face. The little boy, Yoshi apparently, was pulling a raven haired man by the shirt as the man finished drying his hands on a cloth he was carrying. "Now, what is all the fuss about?" he asked the little tyke calmly as her tossed the rag to a nearby wooden bench. The boy turned back to them and pointed in their directing.

When those piercing green eyes looked upon her for the first time in eight years, Orihime couldn't breath. They had done it. There he was. Not gone. Not gone! But here, where he should have gone in the first place. And, oh my, he looked one hundred percent human and now he was smiling and she was completely off track with her thoughts, but couldn't seem to calm them.

He began walking towards them with a soft welcoming smile and Orihime still couldn't breath for the joy she felt. She had dreamed of this moment for so long. What should she say? What would he do? He was only a couple of steps away now and... and he wasn't even looking at her was he?

"Ginny," he greeted fondly. "I'd say I'm happy to see you, but if you're here then it means... well."

"Harry," Ginny sounded choked up and although his greeting had been warm but somber, she had no problem with showing him just how happy she was to see him. She threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. Harry looked a little startled, but returned the hug after a moments surprise.

Orihime just stood in confusion as she was ignored through the entire greeting, but maybe it was just that he was saving the hardest or best for last? She hadn't been wrong to track him down had she? He wasn't mad at her was he?

Ginny finally pulled away and wiped a stray tear from her eye. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "it's just so damn good to see you again. You have no idea how bad we've wanted to make sure you didn't actually fade away. And here you were playing around with a bunch of kids!" she laughed. "How did that happen anyways?"

Harry put his hands in his pockets in an all to familiar stance before he answered calmly. "Originally I had gone out looking for a familiar face, like mum or dad, but no luck. I did somehow end up with a little group of stragglers," he answered. "I seem to pick up another one every time I go out searching, so I guess it just kind of happened," he shrugged.

Ginny shook her head at him fondly and smiled. Suddenly she seemed to remember something. "Oh! God, what's wrong with me? I'm sure you and Orihime want to say hi and here I am hogging all the attention."

Harry looked confused for a moment, "I'm sorry, who?"

And with those three words, Orihime's heart just about shattered. She stood in complete stillness, but it felt as if the world tilted under her feet.

"Orihime?" Ginny answered in confusion and gesture towards her.

Harry-kun turned those beautiful emerald jewels towards her and, for a moment, recognition seemed to fill his eyes, but then the moment had passed. He held out a hand for her to shake. "Orihime was it? Are you a friend of Ginny's? Or... have we met before?" He asked, sounding unsure.

Orihime literally could not make her throat work or use her lips to form the words for a response. How does one respond to the man they love forgetting they even existed.

"Harry! Don't you remember her at all?" asked Ginny in a dumbfounded tone.

Harry glance back to the soul reaper as he let his hand drop, Orihime was obviously not going to shake it. He ran his fingers though his hair in an almost nervous gesture, but it didn't quite show on his face. "Well," he started softly, unsure of himself. "You're going to think this sounds crazy," he said quietly to himself. Then he turned his attention back on Orihime and she hung on his every word, desperate for some iota of recognition. "It's just that... you look kind of familiar. Like someone I've, uh... seen in a dream," he finished softly.

Orihime was both elated and devastated. He was alive, but he had forgotten her some how, but perhaps not completely erased her from his mind? Was there any hope? Was there any way that they could just catch a break and have fate stop laughing at them? Her emotions were a runaway roller coaster and she couldn't seem to find the strength to ground herself yet.

Harry looked between the two women and took up his familiar stance again, assessing them carefully. "I'm missing something big." It was an observation, not a statement.

Ginny, realizing Orihime was still too overwhelmed to talk, took over and Harry turned back to her as she asked him, "What's the last thing you remember from the world of the living?"

"It's a little foggy, but I remember fighting in the Ministry and then pushing Sirius out of the way of a curse, but that's it. I must have been hit instead because I found myself in the afterlife, didn't I?" he stated mater-of-fact.

Ginny groaned and slapped a hand across her face in exasperation. "So you don't remember any of it..." she grumbled. "Stupid," she berated herself, "I should have known. His sins were taken, so it would only make sense..."

Harry sent Orihime a bemused look, but Orihime was quickly coming to the same conclusions as her soul reaper friend. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat and was finally able to say something. "Harry-kun," she cleared her throat as that had come out a bit more scratchy than she would have liked, "I'm... so sorry." He was looking at her with those intense eyes again, but this time they were clouded by confusion. Orihime decided something then. First and foremost, he was one of her precious people and he looked so lost as to what was going on. She had to help him, there was nothing else to it.

She twisted her hands in worry as she fretted over where to start, but finally she took a deep breath and found her resolve. She had to be strong for him now. "You, well, you have quite a big gap in your memory Harry-kun."

"I'm beginning to see that," he said with the hint of a sarcastically playful tone as he glanced back at the other red head before focusing back on Orihime. "Care to fill me in? I'm feeling a little out of the loop at the moment."

"Well, it's a rather long story..."

Harry gestured at the world around him. "I think time is one of the things we have plenty of in this place."

Orihime smiled at him sadly. She wasn't quite on an even playing field when it came to time just yet, but she'd explain that in time too. For now, he needed the story she held, his story. "For me," she began, "I guess it all started when you kidnapped me." The look on his face was adorable and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips at his response.

"I didn't," he protested weakly.

"You did," Ginny added helpfully in a rye tone, "twice." If she was teasing him, then Ginny was also coming around to accepting the situation and had stopped panicking.

Harry-kun didn't look completely convinced yet, so Orihime pushed on with her story. "Of course, you didn't go by Harry Potter when we met. You were calling yourself... Ulquiorra then." Again, she saw a flicker of recognition when the name left her lips and his gaze went distant for a moment. Orihime though that perhaps all hope wasn't lost yet.

Coming back to himself, Harry looked between the two as if gauging if they were joking or not. He seemed to come to the conclusion it was serious rather quickly, but his clever eyes caught something in the periphery of his vision. He cast a quick glance back to the children and Orihime realized they had an audience now. Harry turned to the children and clapped his hands. "Everything is fine. These are friends of mine," he declared, warming Orihime's heart ever so slightly. "Go on now, finish playing. Me and these lovely ladies will just be going inside for a chat. Off with you now."

Harry gestured for Ginny and Orihime to follow him and slowly but surely the kids began to resume what they were doing before they noticed the arrival of the two strangers. They did, however, keep a wary eye on them as the two red heads followed Harry to the cabin. The only one that hadn't seemed to follow Harry's instructions was the little boy they had first met, Yoshi. The little boy was looking up worriedly at Harry-kun and sucking on his thumb.

"Yoshi," Harry reprimanded softly, "what have I told you about that?" The little boy pulled his thumb out of his mouth and hid his hands behind his back, looking ashamed. "There you go," said Harry, patting the young boy on the head. "Much better. You look much tougher without your thumb in your mouth." The little boy bashfully looked away, so Harry reached out and picked him up. "Alright, come along then. If you are going to try and protect me from the big scary girls, then you'll just have to come with us." He gave said girls a small, mischievous smile as he hefted the boy up onto his hip. "And while we're at it, maybe we could get you that bath I've been promising." The little boys eyes widened and he struggled out of Harry's arms to go and fetch his ball and run off to play. Harry chuckled softly at the child's antics before turning back to the girls to usher them in for tea and stories.

As Orihime followed behind him, she thought that perhaps forgetting his past as a hollow wasn't so bad after all. He seemed so much happier now... at ease in a way she had never seen him before. Besides, her Harry wasn't completely gone. She could see it in his eyes, in the way he spoke and moved. He was still in there, just ...more free, for lack of a better term.

And who knows? It might be fun, getting to know him all over again. You never know...

IVX: And there you have it, the conclusion to DH. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. Much love to all my faithful and awesome reviewers. You really are what keeps an author going. It's all thanks to you guys that this finally has the title 'complete'. IVX signing out... ^_~