Chapter 5 in which the heroes of our story face their greatest challenge yet - trying to be tactful in the face of great hilarity, and a certain young Mr Potter turns purple (which is not a flattering colour and clashes most definitely with his eyes.)

(1st September, 2027)

A cloud skulled across the brilliantly blue sky, momentarily casting a shadow on my face. I opened my eyes and blinked, staring up at the white clouds that had appeared while I'd been asleep.

"And that one, no not that one - that one, the one next to the one that looks like a broomstick - that one looks like Crookshanks Junior."

"No it doesn't," I heard Rose say, doubtfully. "It looks like the Knight Bus that came off worse after colliding with a wall."

"Precisely!" Al crowed, then: "OW!"

"You're a git, Al," I muttered, closing my eyes again and blocking out his cries of 'HELP, SHE'S KILLING ME' and the occasional 'thud' as one of Rosie's bony feet made contact with one of Al's equally bony knees.

After a moment the kafuffle died down and I began to listen to their conversation again.

"Fine, that one doesn't look like Crookshanks, but you have to admit that that one over there does look like a flying carpet."

"That's because it is a flying carpet, Al." Rose said, patiently. "Don't you remember, Lisa and Sean nicked that one off Mundungus last year."

"But that's illegal!"

"And?" I asked, "Since when has that stopped the Finnegan twins from doing anything?"

"True," He conceded. "Anyway, we've got one more entry in the last, dun dun dun! of your journals to read then we have finished the Hogwartian Memoirs of Scorpius Malfoy!"

"Finished?" Rose asked, shuffling over the ground to lay her head down on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I smiled, "Well, we left Hogwarts the next day and besides - I didn't need to keep a journal after that."

"Why not?"

I smiled, but didn't answer. The truth was that after leaving Hogwarts I had no need to wonder about my forever. I was living it.

(25th July, 2023)

It was the moon peering in through the window that woke me up at twenty-three-and-a-half-minutes-past-one-in-the-bl oody-morning. I'd been so tired the previous night when I'd gone to bed that I had just collapsed face own onto my pillows and passed out, not bothering to pull the curtains around my four-poster. Now though, I regretted that as I lay staring through the window at the moonlight. And at the rain drops sliding down the panes of glass.

Now that I was properly awake I couldn't believe that I had been able to sleep at all through the noise that rain was making. And the moonlight with filled the dormitory with eerie shadows. Plus, sleeping in clothes isn't as comfortable as it seems. I could feel my wand sticking into my shoulder and something hard, probably a sneaker scope (at least, I hoped it wasn't a bottle of ink), digging into my stomach. Sighing, I rolled over and removed the hard lumpy thing (it was, unfortunately, a bottle of ink) and then got, peeling off my sticky, stained shirt.

Looking back, it probably hadn't been that sensible to fall asleep while writing a letter.

After procuring the somewhat battered quill from the top of the curtains hanging around my bed, the parchment from one of my shoes (don't ask) and scourgify-ing the remaining ink from the blankets, I crept out of the dorm, pulling another shirt over my head as I went. The hallways were silent, and I only encountered the odd ghost floating the opposite direction. I strolled along, hands deep in my pockets.

It felt strange to be going home tomorrow. And more than strange to be never coming back to Hogwarts again. So it seemed sort of okay, even right, to spend my last night at this castle that had been my home for so many years, wandering around - having one more late night explore.

The front doors weren't locked when I entered the Entrance Hall, so I pulled one of the great oak doors open and slipped out into the pouring rain, heading for our beach tree by the Lake. The beech tree is definitely our tree - mine and Al's and Rosie's. We've spent hours and hours out there, lying on our backs and enjoying the sunshine, or feverishly studying for O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s or sitting and chatting. Out of everywhere at Hogwarts, it's our place so I think it was only right and proper for me to spend my last night at Hogwarts there.

Even if it happened to be pouring.

And even if it didn't happen to be deserted.

Rose was absolutely drenched by the time I reached her, but then again, so was I. The rain had plastered her hair to her face and her robes had streams of water running off them where the waterlogged fabric was too wet to absorb any more. She also looked unbelievable beautiful and suddenly I knew exactly what I had to do.

"Rose." I started, then stopped and tried to figure out what the heck I was trying to say. "I love you." I said, simply. She opened her mouth to speak but I knew now that if I stopped I'd never be able to get started again and then I'd lose my chance and everything would be ruined.

"No, please, let me speak Rose." I dropped to my knees, squishing in the mud. " I love you and I want to be with you always." And then I pulled out the little box that had been in my pocket for months now. Her mouth almost hit the muddy ground.

"So Rose," I opened the box and held it out to her, "Will you please make me the happiest man alive and be my best friend for life?"

She burst out laughing and pulled the two friendship bracelets, fastening one around her own wrist then pulling me to my feet (my knees make an odd sucking noise as they left the mud) and tying the other around my wrist.

"Best friends forever." She whispered and kissed me. When we finally drew apart I suddenly grinned and reached into my other pocket.

"Oh and by the way Rosie-Pose, will you marry me?"

The exclamation didn't come from Rose though. It came from another person who had been round the other side of the beach's trunk. Albus staggered out and stared at me in complete befuddlement. He was rapidly turning purple.

"That clashes rather magnificently with his eyes," Rose whispered to me with a laugh as she slipped the ring onto her finger.

Ah well, I thought cheerfully, as the three of us began to head back up towards the castle, Rose and I still having to restrain our tactless hilarity at Al's comical face, I suppose it was only right for the three of us to finish this together.

After all, we started it together.

Though, I added silently in my head, If Al tries to interrupt me and Rose when we're on our honeymoon, I'm definitely going to hex his head off...

(1st September, 2027)

So I lay there, an arm around my beautiful wife's waist, next to my annoying cousin in law who I couldn't live without, and felt that really, all was well.