Well, this is it guys! The last chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the story all the way from The Enemy Within to this last chapter, and to those who have taken the time to leave me a review. I appreciate it! :)

I'm off to Australia for 5 weeks so I'll take a short break and then dive back in with my Doctor Who series I've been working on.
I hope you all enjoy this.
I think it rounds things up nicely.

Happy reading!

Chapter thirty seven

The end

It took Harry a long time to adjust after he'd woken up in the Hospital Wing. According to Tonks and Remus it was September and Harry had just battled with Voldemort in the forbidden forest. But in Harry's mind it was still December. He'd been held captive with Death Eaters, defeated Sirius' possessed body and allowed himself to die once again for the good of others. It was hard for him to accept that those three months had been wiped from existence entirely. He spent several hours going over the story with Remus until he couldn't bare to listen to the sound of his own voice anymore. Remus was sceptical at first but after listening for the third time round, he agreed that the detail was too extensive for this to have just been a dream. He got in touch with the Aurors that night to tell them of the Death Eaters hide out. At exactly noon the next day they fire called to announce that they'd captured a man by the name of Elion, and the rest of the Death Eaters were being rounded up as they spoke. Harry couldn't believe it; Dumbledore had been right. Things had changed. Draco had been found with the Death Eaters but under orders from McGonagall was put under constant guard. He was still due to stand trial but with an offer of protection from the school and with Snape willing to take him in as a ward; Draco wasn't going to end up in Azkaban. Avery on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He was sentenced to ten years in the wizard prison for his work within the first war. Harry struggled for a long time with his sentencing. Having known what Avery would have become over the next few months, he didn't think it fair that a man who would have saved his life was set to spend the next decade with the Dementors.

Snape was recovering down in his chambers, just as he had last time. He did, however, make frequent visits to the hospital wing to check up on Harry's progress. He cast spells, gave potions and often sat for several hours without saying a word. He would watch over the other students in the wing, or sit opposite from Harry reading the daily profit or potions books. It wasn't until two weeks after Harry had woken up that he finally decided to question Snape about a hunch he'd had.

'You remember, don't you?' Harry said, catching Snape as he was walking out the door. The hospital wing was empty now, if it hadn't been Harry didn't think Snape would have turned around and said:
'I believe the unbreakable vow I made with your mother has connected us in more ways than one.'

Harry sat upright in his bed. 'You remember the whole thing then? Everything that happened in those three months?'

Snape nodded, touching his chin thoughtfully.

'For a long time, I believed I was dreaming,' he said. 'It wasn't until you awoke and confirmed everything I'd seen that I realised it couldn't have been a figment of my imagination. You described everything in such detail…'

'Everyone thinks I'm mad.'

'Quite,' Snape said. 'A three month existence in a parallel set of events…the whole thing is absurd.'

Harry felt a large weight lift of his chest as Snape reached for the door again. Snape remembered! Even if Snape would not admit this to anybody else, Harry knew he had somebody to turn to if his memories turned sour.

'I am proud of your courage,' Snape said suddenly, his back to Harry. 'Not many men would have been able to sacrifice themselves as you did.'

'You would have,' Harry said. 'I guess we have more in common than we thought.'

Snape's upper lip twitched slightly. 'Perhaps we do,' he said. 'Good day, Potter.'

'Goodbye, Professor.'

It still took Harry's body several weeks to recover. Although he no longer bore the scars of his time within the Death Eaters headquarters, this body was trying to heal from the battle with Voldemort in the forbidden forest. Harry recalled how difficult it was the first time and he was determined not to give in to his frustrations again. It has cost him Ginny before and very almost cost him his relationship with Remus. Hermione and the remaining Weasleys had come to visit him on a regular basis, and he found his love for Ginny was stronger than it had ever been. He was still inundated with offers to do interviews and radio shows with Fudge, but Harry refused immediately. He didn't need to rally the people any more. His job was done. Voldemort was where he belonged and the Death Eaters had been captured.
Now it was his turn to lead a normal life.

Soon enough, November came around again as cold and crisp as it had been before. Harry was sat alone in Remus' chambers, tucked up on the sofa when the door opened suddenly.

'Not in class?' Remus asked across the room. Harry turned in his chair.

'Nope. Madam Pomfrey is still only allowing me to attend two classes a day. I was just finishing up some homework.'

'Okay, let me know when you're done. We could go to Hogsmeade if you like.'

Harry looked up suddenly as a memory raced though him. It was an odd feeling – remembering something that hadn't really happened.

'You've got that look on your face again,' Remus said, coming to join him on the sofa.

'What look?'

'When you remember something from the first time around.' Remus had taken to calling Harry's three month experience that, for loss of what else he could possibly name it.

'It's okay,' Harry said. 'We don't have to talk about it…I know it's hard for you to get your head around.'

'No – it's okay,' Remus said. 'I want to know.'

'Today is the first of November,' Harry went on. 'The first time around, I was just waking up from the battle in Hogsmeade.'

Remus nodded along. 'I remember you saying.'

'It's just so strange how different things are,' Harry said. 'It's very quiet around here without Draco sneaking around and without the constant threat of attack from Death Eaters.'

'Don't tell me you'd prefer it the other way around?' Remus said, laughing.

Harry shook his head quickly. 'No way,' he said. 'It's just…I never thought I'd get to see this.'

'You know,' Remus cut in quickly. 'You never ask for any credit…for what you did to return things to normal. Taking Sirius back beyond the veil.'

'That's not why I did it,' Harry said. 'And I like the fact that nobody is giving me any attention for it. They all think I'm nuts anyway, that fighting Voldemort made me go a bit mental. Nobody believes that I spent three months of the year doing all that stuff and then woke up in my own body to find out that none of it happened. And I'm happy that they don't. The last thing I want is Fudge following me around for the rest of my life trying to get me to agree to a book deal or something. I'd rather they just thought of me as 'Harry Potter, the nutcase of offed Voldemort''

Remus laughed loudly. 'We know you're not a nutcase, Harry,' he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. 'I know you don't,' he said. 'But sometimes you get this look in your eye that says you don't really believe what I'm saying.'

'The whole thing is…incredible,' Remus said. 'And yes, sometimes I find it very difficult to get my head around everything that happened. But I do believe you, Harry. I believe every word of it.' He ruffled Harry's hair playfully. 'In fact, let's forget about Hogsmeade. Tell me about those three months.'

'Again?' Harry groaned.

'It's so remarkable, I wish to know it in as much detail as you do. After all, I featured quite a lot in this tale.'
Harry grinned, took a breath and then delved into his story for what felt like the thousandth time. He didn't mind though. He would end up telling the story many more times over the years.
Gradually, his body healed and he was able to return to classes as normal. He and Draco would pass each other frequently in the hallways and but they never uttered a word to each other. Draco had no idea of what happened in those three months and though, at times, he could still be a complete pain, Harry made an effort to be civil towards him. After all, he played a large part in keeping him alive. He'd never know it, but Harry did owe him his life.

Harry only went back one last time to visit Dumbledore's portrait. He found he didn't need to tell Dumbledore what happened as, when he got there, he had a strange feeling the man already knew the events of the past three months. McGonagall was in the office at the time, still in her position as Headmistress, so Harry didn't press the matter. But the wink he received as he exited the room confirmed his theories. Even in death, Dumbledore was still as mysterious as ever.

Snape and Harry managed to maintain a distant friendship with each other. Snape no longer berated Harry in class, nor kept him behind in detention for no reason. And when the memories of their time spent together in the Death Eaters headquarters were strong and painful, they would sit in silence, feeding off each others strength.

The rest of the years at Hogwarts were very quiet for Harry. There were no basilisks waiting to slither out of the shadows, no attacks from Death Eaters, no sign of Sirius' decaying body appearing from the veil. Harry had finally got his wish.
He'd finally got to live a normal life. And with his friends and Remus by his side, he couldn't have been happier.