Getting closure on Prediction no thank you!: an epilogue

So this takes place the summer after third year. I will not be writing more of this unless some Muse comes along, but considering the time (four years since the last update) and many rewrites and scraped attempts, consider this done.

I am inviting anyone interested in adopting this to continue this to contact me here or on ao3 where I usually write nowadays as Greennonmonster whenever I feel the urge. This fic and my inability to finish it haven't exactly been beneficial to my writing prowess.

Thank you so much to all those who have reviewed this, your encouragement is the reason I have fought to get some ending to this story. With this I wish you a Happy New Year!

Harry put down the quill after he had finished the last rune and sealed the letter. It was for Hermione, she had suggested they write their letter in runes of the writers choice before they left Hogwarts and Harry had happily agreed. Harry was inviting both her and Ron to stay a few days at the Tonks' before the summer holidays ended. For once Harry would be able to invite them into his home and to meet his family.

He couldn't wait to have his oldest friends here. Most of his friends were going to visit at least for a day during the summer. Terry and Anthony, the quidditch team, Sheila and Jessica, Susan and Hannah, Luna, Cedric and Penny, Neville and even Daphne had been by for tea with her family while Mrs Greengrass and Andie discussed the application of some new potions in healing.

Letting Hedwig out after a small cuddle session Harry went to the room next to his and knocked.

"Sirius, you up?" A mumble was heard, so Harry opened to door.

Sirius was a lump in the middle of the bed with his feet sticking out of the blanket.

"Bad day?" Harry asked.

"It's not a great one, but you can stay for a bit. Gotta get up for therapy later anyway," Sirius said as he pulled the blanket a bit from his head.

Harry sat on the chair by the side of the bed. Normally it was occupied by Harry, Remus or Andie.

Sirius was still a patient at st Mungos, but now he was an outpatient. Andie had offered him a room as soon as she saw that he had stabilized a bit for as long as was needed during his recovery. Andie had given Sirius a Look when he had suggested that he could stay somewhere else and didn't need to impose.

"You're my cousin Sirius and my favorite one at that. Also Harry lives with me." That had been the end of that discussion.

Remus had quit his position in the school since knowledge that he was a werewolf had leaked. Instead he had started up a tutoring business, teaching those who didn't go to Hogwarts, those who had difficulties, adults who needed to brush up their skills and anyone else interested. With Andie's support it was going decently. He was also spending a lot of time at the Tonks'. He was there to see Harry and Sirius of course and also to delight everyone with his baking and cooking skills regarding different chocolate creations. However more and more of his time was spent chatting with Dora, much to the amusement of Sirius on the days he was well enough to spend a lot of time up enough to truly witness their interactions.

When Sheila and Jessica had visited, they'd taken one look at Harry and Sirius and solemnly asked if they needed hugs. It had devolved into a cuddle pit where the entire household and their guest lay on a mass of pillows and held each other. It had been one of the best days Sirius had had so far.

While Sirius was a patient at St Mungos, it had also been suggested that Harry attend therapy as well. He had enough traumatic experiences that he considered normal that a serious discussion with Harry had been had at the Tonks. Forcing him into therapy would do no good and the Dursleys had called it a variety of derogatory names. In the end, Harry agreed to try for the summer to talk to a therapist about growing up at the Dursleys, what he heard when the dementors came near and his experiences at Hogwarts.

Sitting by Sirius side, Harry held his hand.

"Wanna go swimming?" Harry asked when a bit more of Sirius face was reveled. Apart from smiling at Remus and Dora, swimming might be Sirius new favorite activity. Harry could a lot of the time be seen in the pool reveling at free time during the summer and in his newfound ability. He wasn't great, but he had fun. For Sirius being in water was one of the few activities he could do without being in constant pain. The water helped since there wasn't as much load on his joints, which were among the last things to heal physically on Sirius.

"Will any of your friends come today?" Sirius slowly rolled up to a sitting position with a little help from Harry and was soon ready to slowly drift in the water.

"Yeah, Terry will be by later."

Sirius grinned.

"So how long until I get more embarrassing tales from him? There was something about a valentine?" Sirius said, smirking at Harry.

"Not too long probably, he's getting revenge on me and Anthony ganging up on him, or so he says," Harry said with a sigh.

In the pool Sirius was half on a floatie and half on the water. Harry was checking how long he could hold his breath underwater.

"This looks relaxing", was all the forewarning they got before Terry jumped into the pool cannonball style.

After Harry managed to get revenge by dunking Terry to the sound of Sirius cackles, the boys started a proper water fight, both keeping on the opposite side from Sirius so not to splash him.

"Sirius!" Terry shouted between the splashing. "Has this fiend decided what he wants for his birthday yet?"

"Nope, but we're keeping a close eye on him so we have a few ideas."

The preparations for Harry's birthday party had taken him a bit off guard. First of all, he was having a party something that he had never had. He had seen Dudley's parties, he had baked, cooked and cleaned for them, but never had any of it been for Harry's benefit. That led into the next thing that caught him of guard. Since this was for him and due to his prior experiences, he was only allowed to help if he could genuinely say that he wanted to do something from the bottom of his heart and that he wanted to do it for himself and not to please someone else or out of fear that they were going to think less of him.

Thus Harry ended up doing very little apart from deciding who to invite, help pick out cards to send to people and pick a time. Activities to do, like a game of quidditch and swimming in the pool, he was also involved in. But the cleaning and polishing, the cooking and food preparation Harry was not involved with at all to his bewilderment.

Harry had made a lot of cakes, but they'd always been connected in his mind with the Dursleys and their celebrations. Dessert at Hogwarts was different, there was rarely in the form of birthday cakes. So Andie and Ted decided to experiment.

"You like chocolate right? Seems to be the sweet you like the most?"

"Yes," Harry said and was the next few days bombarded with different flavor combinations.

There was strawberries, raspberries, lemon curd, banana, nuts, caramel, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, blueberries, oranges, mint and every other flavor combination Harry could think of.

All the tasting was done under the supervision of Dora, Remus (who were going to bake the cake since he was the best baker), Sirius, Andie and Ted. Notes were taken on Harry's reactions.

The morning of his birthday Harry woke up due to Dora bouncing on his bed and announcing "Breakfast in bed, birthday boy! Come on wake up or the toast will be cool!" Dora exclaimed.

"Or I'll just keep a heating charm on it instead," Andie said dryly, watching her daughter and foster son wrestling on Harry's bed.

"Quit it both of you, you can do that outside or somewhere I don't have to worry about you falling of and giving yourselves a concussion."

They all ended up on Harry's floor on cushions having a breakfast picnic.

The guest started coming in the afternoon with the first being Jessica and Sheila attackhugging him.

"Happy birthday Harry!"

"Thank you!" Harry gasped out as Sirius was sniggering from a couch, having a decent day. "But I think Sirius need more hugs then me," Harry said and the duo went to cuddle Sirius who welcomed them with open arms.

People continued to trickle in during the next half hour and Jessica and Sheila stuck with Sirius to make sure he wasn't too overwhelmed. Harry meanwhile was starting to have a pile of presents starting to look similar to Dudley's as more and more people arrived.

By order of Andie the planned quidditch match, which the combined forces of the Gryffindor seekers and Cedric insured Oliver didn't hijack completely, was before they all had epic waterfight and later on just chilling in or by the pool. Though it was decided this might not only been practicality, since Andie who had not been in the quidditch game won the water fight.

After the fight eating from the buffet began until most was in a cuddle pit instigated by Jessica and Sheila.

The cake was the absolute highlight for Harry. They wheeled it in amid the singing. It proved to be a seven layer chocolate cake with both dark and white chocolate layers and frosting with strawberries and lemon curd fillings. Remus decided to lift harry up for the blowing our of the candles amid chuckling. Harry didn't mind as he got a hug out of it. Harry didn't have to do a thing for the creation of this cake and it was delicious.

Around him was those who he loved and cared for. Remus and Ron was playing chess on one end of the pool while Ginny, Hermione, Penny and Dora was chatting while Dora changed her nose, Sirius and the Twins was undoubtedly up to no good in a cluster. Sheila, Jessica, Luna and Daphne was also looking rather mischievous at one of the tables. In a big clump was the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team together with Cedric talking with big gestures about quidditch if Oliver's face was anything to go by. Andie and Ted was hugging and looking out at the gathering with smiles on their faces. Terry, Anthony, Susan, Hannah and Neville was sitting at the same table with Harry chatting about how Terry was absolutely not becoming a lawyer.

This, Harry thought, was family.