Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 121: Epilogue 1
The first thing they had to do was to free all the people that Voldemort had sent to Azkaban when they refused to serve him.
Getting into Azkaban was a fairly easy task, considering that the dementors had been exterminated and that the few remaining loyalists had fled the moment they learned about the Dark Lord's defeat.
Then it was time to take back the Ministry.
There was some resistance, but with Albus Dumbledore's help, they were able to regain control by the end of the day.
And just like that, the second wizarding war came to an end, shortly after it began. In fact, from the day Voldemort announced his return and took control of the Ministry to the day of his own death, not even one week had passed, making it likely the shortest wizarding war in history.
However, the public never learned the truth about what happened. All that had been revealed was that Voldemort went on to launch an assault on Hogwarts along with his army and lost his life in the process.
Most had assumed it was Albus Dumbledore who struck down the Dark Lord. The Headmaster has neither confirmed nor denied the rumors.
In any case, what the citizens of Magical Britain really cared about was that their society had regained its peace and that Lord Voldemort, along with his followers, was not going to return.
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Meanwhile, Harry and his friends were kept away from all of this and spent their last days of the summer vacation enjoying some quiet time.
September arrived, and they were once more riding the train to Hogwarts.
"Did you see this?" Hermione leaned forward in her seat and pointed at the front page of her newspaper. "They have already named a new Minister of Magic. And it's a witch!"
"A witch Minister? I don't think we have had one of those before…" said Ron.
"It's Amelia Bones, right?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" Hermione looked at her friend with surprise.
"Well, it makes sense. She was the Director of the Auror Department and one of the people who opposed Voldemort the most during his return," Ginny pointed out. "She deserved that promotion. I bet Susan is very happy for her aunt. Can't wait to talk to her."
"Our dad also got a promotion," Ron said with excitement. "He is now the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Got a huge raise too!"
"That's great, Ron. Congratulations," said Harry, feeling happy for his friend.
"Maybe we can get a proper mansion now," Ron thought aloud.
"But I just finished rebuilding the Burrow," Harry complained. He spent an afternoon working on that. "I even improved the defenses and enhanced the size of every room, so you have more space to move around."
He actually wanted to do much more than that, but Molly Weasley told him that if he made the house too big, she would not be able to clean it ever again.
"Yes, Ron, we are not going to ditch our home. I love it there," Ginny told her brother.
"Why are you so attached? I don't think there is a single original brick left of the house. It has been rebuilt three times already," Ron pointed out.
"But it was Harry who rebuilt it. So it is still important to me." She grabbed onto Harry's arm and got closer to him.
"Urg…" Ron made a face of disgust. "Please, don't start kissing in here. I have nowhere to run."
Ginny snorted. "Oh, shut up about that. Besides, it is not like you are any better. I saw you and Hermione kissing in front of your bedroom the other day."
Ron turned bright red. "That was ONE TIME!"
Hermione buried her face in her hands. "Could you not bring that up?!"
Harry chuckled quietly, resting his head against the window.
Outside, the countryside rolled by in a blur of green fields and scattered villages. Everything looked so peaceful that it almost felt unreal.
Just a few days ago, the sky had burned with magic, and Magical Britain was holding its breath, hoping for the war to end.
Now, it was just another train ride to school.
Ginny noticed his distant expression and squeezed his hand gently.
"You okay?" she asked softly.
Harry nodded after a moment. "Yeah. I'm just… not used to things being this quiet."
Ron tilted his head. "You say that like it is a bad thing."
"No, it's not," Harry said. "This is what I have always wanted."
Hermione folded her newspaper neatly. "Well, whether you like it or not, you are going to have to get used to normal school life again."
"Sixth year," Ron groaned. "N.E.W.T. classes. More homework. More essays."
"More responsibility," Hermione corrected.
"More torture," Ron insisted.
"Aren't you going to get bored, Harry?" asked Ginny. "I mean… I don't think there is much for you to learn at school, with… you know, everything that you can do."
"She is right, you could have easily graduated early," Ron pointed out.
"Perhaps… but there are still many things I wish to experience at Hogwarts, now that everything is going back to normal," Harry explained.
"And… I think I have already experienced enough time alone."
Ginny hugged him. "You won't be alone ever again. I promise."
After that, the compartment went back to normal. The four friends began to talk about what they expected from the new school year and what they were excited about doing.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I want to join the Quidditch team this year!" said Ron with excitement. "I have been practicing a lot, and I think I can make a great Keeper."
The other three looked at each other, wondering how that was going to go.
The train whistle blew long and loud as it began to slow.
"We are here. Hogsmeade Station," Hermione announced, peering out the window.
Ron stretched. "Here we go again."
Harry stretched his limbs and smiled faintly. "Yeah," he said. "Here we go."