Midnight Duel, Midday Love
Aftermath
By Draco664
Aftermath
The excitement that followed Voldemort's attack on Harry's family over fifteen years ago again swept through the wizarding world. Muggles were again confounded by literally thousands of sightings of owls all over the country. Magical fireworks (many courtesy of WWW, whose profits over the next few weeks spiked dramatically) were set off everywhere two or more wizards met, causing the Ministry many headaches as they tried desperately to keep up with the demands for memory modifications on muggles.
Arthur Weasley was being hailed as a hero. In the months since he had taken control of the Ministry, he had proven that the magical government could take effective action when necessary. In less than half a year, Arthur had overseen a government which had broken Voldemort's ring of Death Eaters, enforced his own requirements of honesty and integrity at all levels in the Ministry, and finally captured and rendered Lord Voldemort himself helpless.
The trial of Tom Marvolo Riddle would be a very long one. Arthur resisted demands that the ex-Dark Lord be immediately given the Dementor's Kiss, saying that everyone who had lost someone to the dark forces had the right to confront their tormentor.
As such, each of Voldemort's crimes were being tried one at a time. Families who lost loved ones could appear in court to see justice handed down before the next case and next family were admitted.
Over the next few months, it was often joked that Riddle would die of old age before he was punished. At the end of the Hogwarts school year, the man who's name used to be feared had racked up seventy-eight kisses, not to mention almost a millennium of prison time.
Sirius was incredibly busy in the months following Voldemort's downfall. With Riddle being questioned daily under Veritaserum, many senior Ministry personnel found themselves implicated by the very man they had supported. Various dark schemes and plots designed to increase Voldemort's support were uncovered, quite a few wizards and witches were charged with accepting bribes and/or support from his Death Eaters. The new core of Unspeakables tore through the Ministry ranks, finding evidence against many high ranking wizards and witches.
With genuine pleasure, Arthur promoted young, enthusiastic, and (due to his amazing success) loyal workers to positions of authority. In many cases, given the Ministry's past culture of rewarding longevity rather than merit, departments started functioning more efficiently and effectively just weeks after the sweeping changes.
Percy Weasley proved that he was a Gryffindor at heart, meeting with his father and admitting that he had been duped, that his blind loyalty had been used against him by those he considered his mentors. Though the other Weasley siblings remained cool to him, Percy returned to the Burrow and had been assigned to work as a liaison between the Ministry and the courts. Percy's fussiness and minute attention to detail made him perfect for the role.
The changes were a little less pronounced at Hogwarts. Ginny Weasley's crime against Harry had briefly become a gossip topic, Draco doing everything in his power to spread around what he had heard her confess under torture.
Harry and his friends did what they could to ignore it and kept repeating the Ministry-sanctioned story, that Ginny willingly sacrificed her magic to help bring Voldemort down. When given the option of slandering someone not present to defend themselves and who the world at large considered a hero or disbelieving a disgruntled and bitter student, most chose to ignore the claims of the orphaned Slytherin.
After term resumed in the New Year, Dumbledore spent several days under the care of Madam Pomfrey for a severe case of magical exhaustion. On his release, the aged headmaster was seen walking with the assistance of an ivory cane, albeit one that literally thrummed with magical energy. With the threat from Voldemort gone forever, Dumbledore could often be heard in the staff rooms, discussing his retirement with his deputy.
Harry and Cho didn't get to spend much time together in the months leading up to their exams. Even with their talents and hastily acquired skills, the pair still found themselves exhausted with their study routine at the end of most days. Their hard work paid off though, both getting the highest number of OWLs and NEWTs of their year level. Harry managed to equal Hermione's eighteen OWLs, much to Hermione's discomfort. Harry's excellent results sent the girl into studying overdrive, determined not to be outdone on her NEWTs. Ron had to put his foot down and insist that her book list of required reading over the summer break be limited to one book a day. Even so, Harry was sure his Christmas present to Hermione would be used to its maximum capacity.
The farewell feast that year was an exuberant one to say the least. Gryffindor again took the Quidditch cup, but Ravenclaw won the House cup, just nudging out Slytherin by a meagre four points. Tiny professor Flitwick was so delighted that he stood and danced on his chair for most of the feast.
Dumbledore sat in his high-backed, padded chair, his benevolent gaze tracing over the entire student body. The ancient headmaster looked even older than usual, though his smile and eyes were still the same.
Even Snape looked to be enjoying the evening somewhat, though Harry suspected that was more to do with the fact that he now had a two month window of opportunity to perform some experiments he had been dying to do ever since he got his long-fingered hands on the potion texts Harry took from Voldemort.
Once all the students had filled themselves up to the brim, Dumbledore slowly stood. "I have a couple of announcements to make before you all head off to bed. Firstly, I would like to congratulate Ravenclaw house on winning their first House Cup in thirteen years."
Dumbledore paused and smiled as a roar of applause erupted from the Ravenclaw table. Once it died down, he continued. "And secondly, not to mention finally, I wish to inform you all that as of tomorrow, I will no longer be the headmaster of Hogwarts."
A groan of dismay from the majority of the students followed this announcement. Dumbledore held up one hand and continued. "I have spent many, many years leading this school. I have had a hand in moulding many of the people in power today. But all things must come to an end, and my tenure here has most definitely reached its end."
Harry sighed to himself, but knew in his heart that it wasn't unexpected. He squeezed Hermione's hand in comfort, since the young witch looked about to burst into tears.
"Several years ago, I promised one of my staff members my own position upon my retirement. However, Professor Snape has decided to decline my offer, citing his work and research as being too important to the Ministry at present to take over all the responsibilities of running the school."
Though not a word was uttered, a visible and palpable shudder of relief swept through the Great Hall. Snape watched the reaction with a self-satisfied smirk not even Malfoy could produce.
"I therefore announce that my successor will be Professor McGonagall." The stern Transfiguration professor stood and accepted the polite but enthusiastic applause at her appointment.
"Professor Flitwick has accepted the responsibility of deputy headmaster." Dumbledore continued, smiling at the shouts and applause from the assembled Ravenclaws. "I have no doubt that between them they will continue to run and improve the school for many years to come."
Dumbledore sat down to applause from the staff table. The roar from the students was almost deafening. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Cho stood, followed by many of their year mates. One by one, two by two, then dozen by dozen, students rose all around the hall. Finally, all but a handful of students stood to attention, applauding the man who had led the school through the most difficult of recent times.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cho sat in the headmaster's office early the following morning as four house elves gently packed away his enormous collection of magical objects and artefacts. Dumbledore watched as the shelves were slowly emptied in silence. With a sigh, the ancient wizard looked up on the stone wall where a place had been made for his soon-to-be-commissioned portrait.
"I suppose that a piece of me will always remain here." he said to himself, though loud enough to be overheard by his visitors. Many of the portraits added their own agreement to his statement.
"Are you sure you've made the right decision, Professor?" asked Hermione.
Dumbledore nodded. "Miss Granger, I have no doubt that I could have led the school for a few more years at least. But after Tom's capture, I was left magically drained. Harry and Cho were exhausted too, but being as young as they are, they were back, as good as if not better than new in less than a week."
Harry and Cho swapped gazes. After the massive magical and mental energy expenditure, they had indeed recovered quickly. But like working your body to exhaustion improves your stamina, both of them had noticed a significant increase in their reserves of power. Spells that left them weary before, now didn't require anywhere near as much effort to cast.
Dumbledore gently lowered his body into his comfortable armchair, giving a slight grunt of effort. "Tiberius is only just getting over the effort himself. Sirius took almost a month to get back to his best. It will take many more months, perhaps even years, for me to rebuild my reserves. If, indeed, I ever do." He wiggled his body slightly, settling into the deep chair. "Hogwarts needs someone at the peak of their form to run, especially if they have to put up with you lot." he finished with a cheeky grin.
"Do you have any plans yet, sir?" asked Ron.
With a small chuckle, Dumbledore shook his head. "Though I have given this decision a lot of thought, I have not spared any time to think of the consequences. No, Mr. Weasley, I have no immediate plans but to enjoy my time."
Dumbledore shuffled through some paperwork on his desk, before holding up a sheet of parchment. "Right, down to business. The reason I asked you all to join me. Ah, here we go. Miss Chang, I believe this is for you." he said, handing it to her.
Cho's expression registered her surprise. "This is an acceptance letter from the auror academy!" she blurted. "But I haven't even sent my application in yet!"
Dumbledore smiled. "Tiberius was most insistent on getting a copy of your results immediately. I believe he feels that he needs to keep an eye on a student who can become a magical creature at will. Don't be surprised if your parents are already aware of this. He is most interested in getting you signed up, Miss Chang."
Cho smiled brightly and looked over at her boyfriend. Harry's grin rivalled her own.
"Next, Miss Granger." continued Dumbledore, handing her an envelope. "You have most definitely proved that this is yours beyond doubt."
Hermione's frown disappeared at the sight of the Head Girl pin that fell from the envelope into her hand. With a shriek that Molly Weasley would have been proud of, she grabbed Ron in a massive bear hug.
Dumbledore theatrically wiggled his little finger in his ear. He took the chance during Hermione's jubilation to extract another sheet of parchment. Once things had calmed, he handed it to Ron.
"Mr. Weasley, since the Tri-Wizard Tournament was rather a disaster, the Heads of major schools in Europe have decided to come up with an alternative. Next year, the inter-school Quidditch competition will begin. I'd like you to form and captain the team."
Ron sat stunned at Dumbledore's announcement. He woodenly lowered his gaze to the parchment, looking over the agreement of the various school and ministries. He didn't hear Harry and Cho congratulating him warmly.
"And finally, Harry." said Dumbledore. "I'm afraid that beyond the Special Award for Services to the School you received after returning from Tom's capture is all I have for you. Except this, a choice. You may inform Minerva of which year level you wish to enter next year."
"Seventh!" blurted Harry quickly. "I want to be with my friends."
Dumbledore nodded. "I understand and I thought as much. Though I suggest you ask your old Defense instructor to make sure you are up to speed in all your subjects. I have no doubt that you will do just as well in your NEWTs as you did in your OWLs."
With another grunt of effort, Dumbledore stood, still leaning heavily on his cane. He moved over to the window and looked out over the grounds. "I could not be more proud of the four of you. Hogwarts owes much to you all."
For a long moment, Dumbledore stood silently, staring out the window.
Harry cleared his throat. "What are you looking at, sir?"
Fawkes trilled from his perch, attracting the attention of the four students. My Lord-Master is looking over the lake, to where the trees meet the shore. Sang the phoenix. He finds that part of the lake very beautiful.
Cho and Harry looked Dumbledore's familiar in surprise. "How do you know that, Fawkes?" asked Harry.
Fawkes tilted his head, as if weighing up his answer. All familiars can see what their master sees, phoenix-wizard. He trilled.
Dumbledore turned from looking out the window, his eyebrows raised in a silent question. Hermione and Ron both looked at Harry and Cho curiously. Harry and Cho just stared at each other, shock evident on their faces. This was one secret they were going to keep from everyone.
The ride home on the Hogwarts Express was enjoyable, but subdued. Many of Cho's friends stopped by in the quartet's compartment to say goodbye and to swap plans for the future. Several of Cho's friends looked envious of her having received her acceptance already.
Surprisingly, Malfoy didn't make an appearance. Harry and Ron reminisced at the events last time they were on the Express together when Malfoy interrupted them.
"I thought Neville was going to have a heart attack." said Ron.
"What did Angelina end up making him do for his detention?" asked Harry.
Ron smirked. "She made him strip all the school brooms in the Quidditch shed and recharm them. It took him three nights to get it right."
Hermione laughed. "That's right, he kept complaining about having to work with shoddy equipment."
"Well, without his Daddy to buy him the best, he'll have to learn how to budget now." said Cho. "Sirius has all his family assets now." She frowned slightly. "I wonder if anyone is meeting him at the station today."
"You know, I don't have anyone picking me up from King's Cross." Harry said to Cho with a theatrical pout.
Cho bit her lip. "Do you want to come home with me? I'm not sure my parents would approve."
"Oh?" Harry said, clearly surprised. "They let you stay at Black's Pad between Christmas and New Year."
Cho sighed. "I know. But I have to do something for my father. And you being there would probably ruin things."
Harry gave Cho a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "You know I'd never do anything to ruin things for you or your family." he said, a little hurt.
Cho smiled and cupped his cheek. "I know that, silly. It would be your presence that would make things awkward."
"What do you mean?"
Cho sighed. "My father sent me word that an old Chinese family has arrived in London to stay. I had expected them to arrive after you'd gone back to school, Harry. But they arrived early after hearing that I had helped capture Voldemort."
"They want to meet a famous witch?" Harry guessed.
"Sort of." replied Cho with a sad smile.
"Oh no!" said Hermione, her hand over her mouth in shock.
"What?" asked Harry and Ron together.
"The family includes a twenty-two year old wizard. He has come over to court me." Cho whispered.
"What?" roared Ron.
Harry just smirked and let out a small chuckle. "Does he know he has competition?" he asked, his emerald eyes alive with mirth.
Cho looked surprised at Harry's reaction. "No. Not yet at least. If he reads English, then it will only be a matter of time until her reads about me in the paper as your girlfriend."
Hermione still looked outraged. "Did your parents promise that you would marry him?" she demanded.
Cho quickly shook her head. "No, My father only promised that I would meet him, so he would have to court me himself."
Harry laughed out loud, earning him curious looks from the other three. "Does he think you have been raised in a traditional manner?" he asked Cho.
Cho frowned for an instant before realising what he meant. A grin forced its way onto her features. "I guess so."
"Then he will be in shock when he finds how you talk to him." chuckled Harry.
The other three took up the laugh, and eventually all four were clutching their sides, joined together in friendship and joy.
Harry and his friends stayed on the platform for a long while, shaking hands with friends and meeting their families. Harry was quite sure he had shaken hands with half the wizarding population.
Finally, they managed to leave, the massive Weasley family almost forming a guard of honour to escort Harry and his friends out of the station.
Molly Weasley again gave Harry one of her trademark hugs, squeezing his breath from his lungs. "I cannot thank you enough for bringing my Ginny back." she whispered in his ear. "I'm so sorry for what she did."
Harry smiled sadly. "Ginny made a mistake, one she is very sorry for." he whispered back. "She did something very brave that allowed us to save everyone. I won't ever be able to forget what happened, but I do forgive her."
"Oh, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley cried, briefly hugging him tighter before releasing him. "Where are you going now? You're Aunt and Uncle are not here are they?"
"No, though I seriously doubt that I will ever be welcome at Privet Drive ever again. At least until Dudley inherits the house."
"My goodness. Do you need to come and stay with us?"
Harry smiled at the motherly woman who never truly believed he was a murderer. "No thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Sirius is expecting me."
Mrs. Weasley looked around the dwindling crowd. "Is he coming to meet you? How will you get home?"
Harry's face split into a wide grin. "Unless you apparate home, I'll probably be at Black's Pad before you get out of the station, let alone back to the Burrow."
The brief look of confusion on the Weasley matriarch's face before realisation sunk in was priceless.
The next day, Harry had completely emptied his trunk and belt, all the items either put away in the wardrobes in his new bedroom or were decorating the shelves and walls. He stood in the middle of his room and turned in a full circle.
The textbooks from his time at Hogwarts lined one shelf. Several crossed blades of various swords decorated one wall. His comfortable bed was already made up by the house elves in scarlet and gold blankets, even though Harry had only been up and about for half an hour.
The thing that brought the biggest smile to Harry's face was his desk. No longer did he have to do his summer homework at night and in secret; he had all his essay topics, texts, and resources out and in plain view.
As Harry simply stood still and smiled at the sense of belonging, Remus appeared in the open doorway.
"Harry, are you ready?"
Harry nodded, a smile on his face. "Yes Remus. I think I'd better start on the Defense essay first. That is your specialty isn't it?"
Remus rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Not really. But it doesn't really matter. Albus sent me the seventh year curriculum for your subjects. We'll make sure you're up to speed on them all by your birthday."
Harry laughed at the werewolf's exuberance. The pair sat down and began to work.
Dudley Dursley thrust his shovel blade-first into the hard, dry earth and wiped his forearm across his forehead, noting with bemusement the amount of perspiration now clinging to the hairs on his arm.
The large blond boy took a deep breath before tugging on the shovel and lifting up another spadeful of earth. With a small grunt of effort, he slung the load onto the growing heap of clay and soil behind him.
Since Harry had disappeared from his parent's lives, they had hired several people to do all the work they used to have him do. Harry was never mentioned, except when Dudley's father was bemoaning how much it cost to actually have people do what Harry had done for free. Dudley had mentally stepped back and looked at just who his parents were.
He didn't like what he saw very much. With a deep sigh of regret, Dudley now wondered why he had ever looked up to them.
Over his mother's objection, he had signed on with a local tradesman who did landscaping work in gardens to do summer work. For the last month, Dudley had been working hard shovelling earth from one place to another, then back again.
Much to his surprise, he found he enjoyed the work. While he was quite used to having money handed to him by his father, the feeling of working for it was much more satisfying to Dudley's developing morals.
An avian screech above him caused the large boy to jump slightly. Dudley craned his neck and put his open hand against his forehead, shading his eyes from the hot sun. He quickly spotted the source of the noise.
Almost without thought he held out his left arm. A brilliant white owl swooped down quickly, flared its wings at the last instant and gracefully landed on Dudley's outstretched wrist.
"Well, this is different." he mumbled. Gingerly, he reached out with his free hand to the familiar owl's legs, where a rolled piece of parchment was tied. Obligingly, the owl stood on one leg and held out the other, allowing Dudley to perform the unfamiliar act of removing mail from a bird's leg more easily.
Fumbling slightly, Dudley managed to unroll the parchment with one hand. A tiny ball of silver fell from the letter to the ground. Ignoring it for now, Dudley read the letter.
Dear Dudley Dursley.
I hope Hedwig didn't startle you too much. I asked her to find you outside of your parent's home, knowing their normal reaction to such things.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hermione Granger. I am one of Harry's best friends; you and I met briefly at the Christmas party held in Harry's honour.
I am writing to invite you to Harry's seventeenth birthday party. A wizard's seventeenth birthday is very similar to an eighteenth birthday in the non-magical world, the point at which one is considered an adult. As such, a large party is definitely called for. We are organising a surprise birthday party for Harry.
The party will go for three days, starting on the 30th of July. It will be held at Black's Pad, where you stayed briefly at the end of last year.
If you do not wish to, or cannot come, simply tie this message and the silver ball back onto Hedwig (my owl now, she used to be Harry's) and ask her to return. If you do wish to come, simply hold the silver ball in your hand at 9am on the 30th. It will transport you to Black's Pad at that time.
Regards,
Hermione Granger.
P.S. Sirius said to say that Lisa Turpin will be there.
With a grin, Dudley turned to Harry's old pet and said, "Thanks, you can go back now."
With a hoot of agreement, Hedwig took off with a few powerful beats of her wings. Dudley watched the snowy owl fly off before turning around and marching over to his employer. He needed to ask for a few days off.
Harry slammed shut the thick textbook he had taken from his godfather's library with a sigh of accomplishment and content. His History of Magic essay was finally complete.
In less than four weeks, Harry had managed to complete all the homework essays his teachers had assigned. It had helped that he had borrowed Hermione's notes from the past year, looking through them had allowed him to pick out the relevant information from more detailed texts.
Having Remus around for the past month had been invaluable. With the exception of three days over the full moon, the werewolf had tutored Harry with patience and devotion, as delighted as Harry was as the young wizard quickly mastered the many spells he missed from the sixth year curriculum.
It was during the pair's thrice-weekly star-gazing and astronomy lessons that Harry felt an idea burst into his mind. One he would need to keep from Remus to start with and discuss with Sirius first.
But now it was the day before his birthday and Harry had managed to not only finish his homework, but had (in Remus' estimation) caught up with his peers in all areas.
All before his birthday.
Harry stood and stretched, swinging his arms around. He looked over at his collection of weapons on the opposite wall. "Hm, perhaps some practice..." he said to himself.
With that decision made, Harry began a much longer and detailed stretching routine. He was halfway through when there was a knock at his door.
"Come in!"
The door opened a couple of feet and Sirius stuck his head in. "How's your homework going?"
Harry gave his godfather a grin. "All done."
Sirius didn't look surprised. "Good. Time for some fun." With that, he withdrew his head and left Harry alone.
Harry gave a curious laugh, wondering what Sirius had in mind. He walked over to the door and checked that there wasn't any 'prank' attached to the door or the hall outside. Sirius' distant voice called out, "Come on, Harry!"
With a shrug, Harry started jogging after his godfather.
As he entered the main reception room, Harry was greeted with a massive explosion of light and noise as over seven hundred people let off some of Fred and George's inventory and yelled, "Harry Birthday!"
A smile of genuine pleasure flooded onto Harry's face. With a wop of joy, he ran forward and started hugging his friends and 'family'.
Sirius had outdone himself. The old Malfoy manor was now the temporary home to a rather large collection of magical amusement rides. Somehow, Harry's godfather had managed to cloak their arrival and construction in an invisibility ward, keeping Harry in the dark while he studied not half a kilometer away.
What looked like the entire contingent of house elves from Hogwarts had set up a massive two hundred yard long buffet table for the guests; the little mites running back and forth along the length of the structure, continually loading more food onto the already groaning table.
At least half of the current Gryffindors were there, as well as a fair smattering of those who had left in the last few years. Not only that, but the majority of sixth and seventh year students from every house were there too.
Remus was continually accosted by his ex-students, each and every one of them glad to see him. Dumbledore was there too, dressed in muggle clothes to the astonishment of nearly everyone. As Harry looked around, he saw all his teachers throughout the crowd, no doubt enjoying the fact that they were not responsible for the children for once.
Even Snape was there, and was in deep conversation with Allison Sanderson, one of his old students.
Harry wandered around the grounds, trying most rides. His main contingent of Cho, Ron, Hermione, Dudley and Lisa Turpin joining and leaving other groups to try different things.
The circle of friends had their arms around each other, so when Hermione tripped, they all tumbled down in a cacophony of shouts, mock groans and laughs. With no discussion, the group just lay there on the warm, dry grass laughing and chatting, looking for patterns in the clouds.
Harry turned his head to look at his girlfriend. "So, tell me. How did your meeting go? I'm dying to know."
Cho closed her eyes and giggled.
Cho and her father arrived back in Diagon Alley less than an hour after leaving King's Cross Station. She wistfully looked over the row of buildings that her parent's apothecary was part of, smiling at the thought that her father was paying rent to her boyfriend.
It was quickly obvious after passing through the retail section at the front of the building that her parents had visitors. The surusus of low, but well spoken Chinese voices gently permeated the home.
Cho raised an eyebrow at her father, who simply gave her a small smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "Go and make yourself presentable, and come and meet our guests."
Cho sighed, but quickly ascended the stairs, her floating trunk obediently following along behind her.
It was quite obvious that her mother had made some decisions for her. Laid out on her bed was a beautiful, traditional silk dress, a pair of jade and emerald earrings and some make up. A pair of brand new matching shoes sat side by side on the floor at the foot of Cho's bed.
With a rather unladylike snort, Cho set about making herself 'presentable'. Distaining the make up, she simply slithered into the tight dress and put the matching shoes on. For a second, she tossed the beautiful earrings from one hand to another, debating silently with herself.
"It's not like I'm trying to prove anything." she said to herself, before putting them on.
Cho sat in front of her full length mirror, brushing her long, silky hair. Feeling a pang of loneliness, she closed her eyes and thought about Harry.
When she opened her eyes, the ground was speeding beneath her. The scenery changed as phoenix Harry swooped and headed in a different direction, obviously enjoying himself immensely.
Cho blinked, and her image appeared in the mirror again. She smiled to herself, knowing that Harry was safe and happy.
Deftly, she tied her hair into a long ponytail, and then twirled it up into an elegant spiral. A quick fixing charm held it in place. Satisfied with what she saw, Cho took a few deep breaths to calm herself, before making her way downstairs.
Her entrance into the family's reception room caused instant silence. Apart from her grandparents and parents, there were seven other people in the room. One ancient wizard, to whom Dumbledore would probably appear to be a young upstart, sat in her father's armchair, his calm gaze fixing onto Cho. Without thinking, Cho smoothed down her dress with an almost genetic need to show this man respect.
A group of four unfamiliar adults took up the rest of the seats. Three wizards and a witch of varying ages sat stiff-backed and proper. A young girl, probably not even old enough for Hogwarts, sat on the unfamiliar witch's lap.
But the object of Cho's search stood behind the venerable wizard, one hand resting lightly on the old man's shoulder. The young wizard, probably in his early twenties, stared back at Cho with a look of adoration.
Without a word, he stepped forward to stand in front of Cho.
"Kai took one look at me and proposed." said Cho.
Among the snorts of amusement from the assembled friends, Harry, with a gleam of mischief in his eyes, asked, "What did you say to that?"
"I told him I wouldn't marry someone I didn't know, so he decided to give me a rather lengthy verbal autobiography."
Among the snorts of amusement from the listeners, Lisa Turpin spoke up. "What were the highlights?"
Blinking in surprise at her sudden refusal, Kai couldn't control the dark expression that flickered briefly across his face. The witch holding the young girl didn't bother controlling her disapproval, shooting a glare at Cho's mother.
The young wizard turned to Cho's father and started to relate the many achievements of his life to date. Trying to stifle a grin, Mr. Chang coughed and whispered "Cho is the one you should be telling."
The young suitor gave the other unfamiliar wizards in the room a questioning look before turning back to Cho and restarting his autobiography.
After several minutes, Cho sighed slightly, realising that by the time they reached adulthood, her feet would be covered in blisters from the new shoes.
"He was very proud of the fact that he had been studying to become an animagus." Cho said, trying with all her might to maintain a straight face.
"I see." said Harry, whose discipline was slipping. Unable to hold back, he started laughing. "What did you say to that?"
Cho covered her mouth and snorted in an unladylike manner.
Cho interrupted the wizard's self grandization as he mentioned something that interested her. "You are studying to become an animagus?"
Again, the brief dark flash crossed Kai's face. "Yes, my instructor believes I will be ready for the final transformation in two months."
Cho blinked in surprise herself. "Two months?"
"Yes. Why?"
Cho frowned. "But it only took me just over three months to become an animagus from scratch. Mind you, I did have the help of the premiere Transfiguration expert in the UK. How long have you been studying?"
At this question, disbelieving murmuring filled the room. Only the ancient wizard remained quiet, giving Cho a piercing look. A faint smile appeared on his lips, along with a tiny approving nod, unnoticed by all but Cho.
"Really?" asked Kai, his tone blatantly telling the world he did not believe her.
Cho shrugged, and changed form.
"I told him I was an animagus. Just straight out told him."
After a couple of seconds of silence, Dudley said, "Well? What happened?"
Cho pouted a little. "He didn't believe me."
"Did you show him?" asked Harry.
Cho nodded. "He blustered about for a bit, before saying he was friends with the son of the regional governor."
Ron gave a barking laugh. "And you told him you were friends with the Minister of Magic?" he guessed.
"Yep!" Cho said lightly, and laughed at the memory.
"Did he believe you this time?" asked Harry.
Cho shook her head.
"The Minister?" Kai chuckled.
Cho nodded, her face flushed at his constant doubting. "His youngest son at Hogwarts is a friend of mine. His son's best friend is very famous too, and is a very close friend of mine."
"I suppose you mean Ha Li Bo Te?" Kai asked with a sneer.
"Yes." Cho said simply.
For an instant, Cho looked around at the sea of disbelieving faces. With a sigh, she drew her wand and cast a couple of summoning charms. A rolled piece of parchment and a photo of Harry and herself flew down the stairs into her waiting hands.
"I had to show him the letter Mr. Weasley wrote to me after we got Moldywarts."
"The one that said that he was forever in your debt?" said Harry, a smirk on his face.
"That's the one. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish for a while, and finally came out with his big guns."
"What were they?" asked Hermione.
"That his final marks were good enough that he could apply for a position with the Magical Defense Corps."
Lisa propped herself up on one elbow. "What did you say to that?"
Cho blushed slightly. "That my marks were good enough that the auror chief headhunted me before my application was submitted."
Dudley and Lisa both looked awed. "Really?" Lisa squeaked.
Cho nodded. "I showed him the letter Chief Wodenbane gave to Professor Dumbledore to give to me."
"How did he take it?"
"Not well." Cho snarled slightly.
"No wife of mine will work as an auror." Kai sneered, his polite facade fading away.
Harry squeezed her hand. "And you said?"
Cho coughed. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" the others chorused.
Cho looked a bit apprehensive, but leaned over and whispered something in Harry's ear.
Cho glared at the self-righteous git standing before her. Laughing at her. Flat out implying that she would be repressed all her life should she marry him.
Cho's tightly clenched fist connected sharply with Kai's chin.
"You hit him?" Harry blurted. Cho scowled at him and slapped his shoulder.
The other four burst into laughter, Lisa and Hermione both giving Cho their congratulations.
The group laughed and laughed. Laughed at the relief of Voldemort being gone. Laughed at the blow Cho had literally struck for Chinese witches everywhere. Laughed with the joy of simply being with friends.
Cho tightened her grip on Harry's hand. Harry just looked at her, marveling at how much she had changed, how much he loved her. His familiar.
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