Two years later ...
June 2008
"– the concept of Elemental Transfiguration would apply in the case of food as well. While it is not possible to conjure food according to Gamp's second law of Elemental Transfiguration, it is quite possible to conjure or transfigure our surroundings for food," explained Harry as he demonstrated and proved his hypothesis to the members of the International Transfiguration Committee for Aspiring Masters. "This does not disprove the second law, but it does make it an exception. While cooked food cannot be conjured, plants and animals can be transfigured from our surroundings and can be used as food. Since we are transfiguring the elemental properties here, the molecular components of the said transfigured objects will be altered. Of course, this also depends upon the nature of the Transfiguration itself. Simple magic cannot alter the substance, but elemental Transfiguration can."
Nearly eighteen-year-old Harry James Potter looked expectantly at the group of witches and wizards in front of him. This was the last presentation. He had already finished the ones for Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions, having successfully completed his Masters' in all of them, the youngest to do so in the last century. Now, he would be receiving his Master's degree in Transfiguration as well.
"You have given us a lot to think about, Mr Potter," said one of the examiners after a pause. "Your research paper will be submitted to other Transfiguration experts to see if it can indeed be classified as an exception to Gamp's second law of Elemental Transfiguration. Before we wrap up your presentation, I was wondering if you could demonstrate the Animagus transformation as well."
"Of course, Master Fin," said Harry politely as he transformed into a golden eagle, gliding around the room, and finally reverted to his human form with a pop.
"Congratulations, Mr Potter," announced Master Fin. "You have successfully completed your Masters' in Transfiguration. Good luck with your future endeavours."
"Thank you," said Harry with a small smile as he accepted his certificate. Once he finished shaking hands with everyone, he walked out of the building and Apparated to The Olympus, the best upscale hotel in Magical Greece where he had been staying for the past few days while he presented his thesis to the Transfiguration Committee. Paying the bill, and ignoring the awed look coming from the manager at meeting the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Apparated to the International European Floo Terminal and Flooed back to Britain.
After passing through customs and security, he stepped inside one of the public Floo systems in the building. With a flash of green flames, he found himself in the massive Atrium in the Ministry of Magic building in London. He flicked his fingers and dispelled any soot that might have collected on his clothes and swiftly moved towards the golden lifts. Flashing his ring to the security wizards, he stepped inside the lifts and waited. Many Ministry employees entered along with him, staring at him with something akin to admiration on their faces.
A minute later, the golden grills opened once more and the cool female voice said, "Level one, Offices of the Minister of Magic, Chief Warlock, and support staff."
Harry calmly walked out of the lifts. The place was covered with thick purple carpets and shining wooden plates on the walls. Important delegates were being shown in and out, and as were various members of the Wizengamot. This richly decorated corridor was deserted as compared to the bustling floors above. With confident strides, Harry entered the reception area outside the office of the Minister of Magic.
Tapping his fingers on the desk of the receptionist, he said in a low voice, "Jenny, is my father busy?"
"Lord Potter!" gushed the receptionist. Clearing her throat, she looked at her file which showed the Minister's schedule. "I'm afraid he's in a meeting with the Brazilian Ambassador for the next twenty minutes. Shall I inform him of your arrival?"
"It's fine," said Harry easily. "I'll wait for the meeting to conclude. Let my father know that I've arrived once the Ambassador has left."
Taking a seat in one of the plush couches in the room, Harry sighed in contentment as a house-elf popped in front of him to offer a chilled glass of Butterbeer. Being the son of the Minister of Magic had its perks.
As he silently observed his surroundings, he felt his thoughts drift to what had happened over the last two years.
Voldemort's death had created a boom in Magical Britain, both in terms of new businesses and in terms of population. Even after the Dark Lord's downfall in 1991, people had still been terrified and the economy had taken a long time to recover, but after the second and final defeat, the economy had not yet taken such massive damage as it had done the last time. Quickly recovering, young witches and wizards had helped the country grow. It had been wonderful to watch. Thanks to the money they had been given from Lockhart as compensation, Fred and George Weasley had managed to easily open their joke stop at the same time in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. From what Harry had been told by the twins, their business was booming and the two of them couldn't be happier.
Things had changed at Hogwarts as well. Albus Dumbledore's death had been announced to everyone and it had created a glum mood. The cause of death had been revealed to be an ancient curse which the Headmaster had accidentally triggered while exploring an unusual place a year before. His funeral was well attended by several witches and wizards from not only Britain but around the world, all who had come to pay their final respects to the former leader of the International Confederation of Wizards. Some of the Hogwarts staff had wanted to bury Dumbledore at Hogwarts, but Harry and Sirius had put their foot down. His body had been at Hogwarts while people paid their respects, but he had been buried at Godric's Hollow near the graves of his mother and sister.
Once Professor McGonagall had been confirmed as Headmistress of Hogwarts, Harry decided that there were certain changes that needed to take place to get the school back on track to how it was decades ago and thankfully, Headmistress McGonagall agreed.
While Harry genuinely believed that Dumbledore had removed several subjects because he didn't want more dark witches and wizards in Britain, McGonagall's theory was that because of the massive decline in the number of students, Hogwarts just could not afford to have so many electives and extra-curricular activities. As the number of students drastically decreased because of the Grindelwald and Voldemort wars, so did the income of the school through the fees being paid, which meant classes had to be cut down to bare essentials and that also meant fewer teachers. However, both she and the Board of Governors believed that time was ripe to get all those classes back in the school curriculum.
Along with the subjects already taught, Hogwarts now had classes for Warding, Healing, Magical Languages, Enchanting, Politics, Magical Finance, Magical Law and Elementary Alchemy. Muggle Studies was given new material which gave accurate information about what Muggles were up to, including the destruction caused by the two world wars. It was time for the magical world realised that Muggles were indeed dangerous and the curriculum ensured that everyone knew about the effects of nuclear weapons, environmental pollution, and high population. This was made compulsory for the first and second year magically raised students while Magical Culture was made compulsory for all first and second-year Muggle-borns.
Defence Against the Dark Arts took a massive overhaul as it was split into two separate subjects – Defensive Magic and Offensive Magic. This was something Harry had insisted on because most of the magic which fell under the purview of grey was never taught, for Dumbledore did not like anything remotely dark being taught at Hogwarts, thus lowering the standard of education in the process. Offensive Magic included combat magic which fell under the category of grey and hence, Harry was happy with it.
There were staff changes as well. McGonagall had found a good replacement for her old position and some might actually argue that the new teacher was stricter than McGonagall had been in teaching the subject, which Dylan wholeheartedly agreed after he received a detention for messing around in her class.
Professor Trelawney was asked to step down and the subject of Divination was now not offered at Hogwarts. Divination was an important branch of magic but the truth of the matter was that it could not be taught. You either had the sight or you didn't, very much like being a Metamorphmagus, and there was no point in pretending otherwise. It was as useless as trying to teach a regular witch or wizard Parseltongue; it just wasn't worth it. After receiving numerous complaints, the new Headmistress also replaced Hagrid with a trained Master for Care of Magical Creatures. As much as Hagrid was knowledgeable, the injuries in his classes were hard to ignore.
Harry also donated two hundred thousand Galleons to the Hogwarts Improvement Fund. Sirius, through the Department of Magical Revenue, had been quick to follow with a tax deduction for anyone willing to donate to Hogwarts and the rest of the smaller schools of Magical Britain. The donations had been quickly put to use as the castle was renovated and cleaned thoroughly until it sparkled. A whole bunch of duelling dummies were brought in for the new Duelling Room; hundreds of new library books were purchased; three new Greenhouses were constructed, which now included some of the best and rare plants from around the world; a whole new range of potions ingredients were imported from several different countries and new Quidditch brooms were purchased for the first years, much to the relief of Madam Hooch.
New state of the art magical telescopes were to be purchased for the Astronomy department, but Harry took it to a whole new level. He contacted the company which produced the working sized model of the galaxy with all the stars and planets in it and made them install a much larger and detailed version of it in the Astronomy Tower, which enabled all the students to view the stars at the same time, much like a planetarium, which enhanced the teaching experience. It also helped in that it could be used during the day, so there were no more Astronomy classes which were held at night.
Harry had also negotiated with different companies and personally saw to the development of the Hogwarts Magical Creatures Sanctuary. A wide variety of different magical creatures were brought in and a lot of enlargement charms were placed in an environment which best suited their needs. Since they had a lot of room, the creatures were very comfortable. This would greatly help during Care of Magical Creatures lessons and Hagrid was overjoyed to take care of the creatures' needs daily.
The Quidditch pitch was increased in size and Miller's Mirrors were installed everywhere so that people could watch the players' progress more clearly. Several Quidditch hoops were placed at different parts of the grounds so that other students who wanted to play Quidditch could do so as well without interfering with the teams' practice sessions. In fact, the main Quidditch pitch now had a roof; but this roof was so far away from the ground that it didn't really matter as a large array of expansion and other charms and enchantments were used to make the pitch meet international standards. This had the added bonus of playing during the winter as well, so matches could be held throughout the year with more frequency.
Classrooms were buffed and revamped, as the old furniture was thrown out and new desks and chairs with the latest magical technology were purchased. Several different rooms were allotted for different clubs, which would greatly enhance their work. Seven large rooms were furnished where members of different Houses of each year could sit down and do their homework or enjoy each other's company; it was basically a common room for each year. The staff hoped that this would promote inter-House unity, especially considering the tensions between the Houses that were visibly decreasing.
Filch was asked to behave with the students and this caused a temper tantrum with the old caretaker, as he finally resigned in anger. McGonagall politely asked him to apply for a job in Azkaban. He probably would be happier taking care of the prisoners there rather than treat the students of Hogwarts as prisoners. New teachers were brought in as well, reducing the workload of the current staff, much to their relief.
All in all, Hogwarts was shaping up to once more be one of the premier schools in Magical Europe.
At the Ministry of Magic, Sirius was doing a fine job. He was still well loved by the magical populace and after the death of Voldemort and Dumbledore, the Wizengamot was more united than it had been in a century. Narcissa Malfoy had swiftly taken control of the Malfoy seat while Theodore Nott's mother had done the same. Using the opportunity that was presented to him, Sirius had enacted quite a few laws for the betterment of the people.
The werewolves were still not willing to cooperate even after the death of Greyback but at least they hadn't been as hostile as they had been before. Relations with the Centaurs had improved after the Ministry stopped bothering them, scrapping all those departments which tended to communicate with Centaurs, Merpeople and other magical creatures, letting them mind their own business.
All frivolous sub-departments and offices were consolidated into bigger sub-departments, making work run smoother. Thanks to the good education now being provided at Hogwarts and the Ministry taking an active interest in the smaller schools of Magical Britain, better-qualified employees were being hired by the Ministry instead of the toadies that Fudge preferred when he was in office.
On a personal level, Harry and Daphne's relationship had deepened considerably. The war against Voldemort had been a test to see if they could survive, and seeing that they could, had given them a sense of confidence with each other which they did not have before. They had also slowly matured out of the teen phase, accepting that they were now adults and had to behave as such. Harry had lived at Hogwarts for the last two years as he apprenticed under the professors while Daphne also finished her education. Thanks to Harry's tutoring and her own rigorous practice and training schedule over the years, Daphne had been able to take her N.E.W.T.s a year in advance, thus giving her a full year with Professors Flitwick and Vector to complete her Charms and Arithmancy Masters'.
With Harry's and her mentors' help, along with plenty of sleepless nights, she was able to catch up quickly, and her presentations for both degrees were to be scheduled in a week in New York City. This would greatly help because they had planned to go on a world tour right after they obtained their Master's degrees. Of course, they were getting married before leaving too.
Dylan had also matured over the last two years. Gone was the shy, insecure boy that he had been when he had entered the magical world. The war had most definitely hardened him considering that he had been personally involved, and his relationship with Harry had also deepened over time. He was as good as Harry's shadow, his loyalty unshakable. Dylan's relationship with Astoria had bumps along the road just like Harry and Daphne's had too, but they had still managed to work it out together. They didn't know what the future offered, but they were happy with each other for the moment and they stuck to that.
There was also another venture which the Ministry of Magic had undertaken. Both Sirius and Harry had known about the large Acromantula nest in the Forbidden Forest, very close to the school. Knowing that such a nest shouldn't be anywhere near a school full of students, the Ministry had teamed up with a company in Indonesia to transport the Acromantulas from the forest to their new homes. It was much safer for the students, not to mention profitable for the government as Acromantula silk was highly valued all over the world, not only for clothes but other products as well. Harry had wondered how Hagrid would react to it, but it turned out that after the half-giant's friend Aragog had died, the rest of the Acromantulas had become more violent, thus necessitating the transfer at all costs. It took all of two years for the forest to lose the darkish gloom that was present due to the infestation of hundreds of Acromantulas, but the change was noticeable. Several other magical creatures had started coming out, now not having to fear for their lives because of the giant spiders.
"Lord Potter, Minister Black is available for you now," announced the receptionist. Harry blinked in surprise, having been lost in thought. Nodding to her, he knocked on the polished mahogany door and entered the room. His adoptive father was sitting behind the large desk at the far end, looking quite exhausted.
"Harry!" Sirius beamed at him, getting up to give his son a hug. "Congratulations on becoming a Transfiguration Master!"
"Thanks, Dad," replied Harry, a hint of a smile forming on his face. "It's nice to finally get it over with."
"When is Daphne's presentation?"
"Next week, in New York City," he said, taking a seat opposite to the Minister. "Once she's done, we're both planning on touring the world for a few years. We're hoping to gain a Sorcerer's degree as well."
Sirius whistled. "Never going to give up on learning more, are you kiddo?" he teased. "James and Lily would be proud of you."
Harry simply smiled.
"I need to know where you'll be going and when. Even though it will be for educational purposes, there's no harm in building international relations that will be beneficial in the future. In fact, the respective magical governments will most definitely invite you for dinner or a party because not only are you the Boy-Who-Lived, but you're also the son of the British Minister of Magic. It's expected for you to meet with them."
Harry nodded. This would definitely reap benefits in the future. While the name of Potter held a lot of influence in Britain because of the four votes he had on the Wizengamot, none of that was relevant outside the country. Sirius and Amelia had their power block internationally, but that was mostly restricted to Magical Europe. In order to increase his influence and power, Harry would need to befriend powerful people from around the world and expand his circle. And this would be most beneficial.
"I'll patch you through with someone from the Department of International Magical Cooperation," continued Sirius. "They can set up appointments when you inform them of whichever country you are in."
"Understood," answered Harry. He paused, looking hesitant. "There's something I would like to talk to you about."
"You remember the prophecy I told you about, right?"
Sirius rubbed his temples with his fingers. That was most definitely not something he wanted to discuss. He and Amelia had been shocked to the core when Harry had revealed the contents of Trelawney's latest prophecy to them. Having braved two wars with Voldemort, neither of them was keen for another. The prophecy was vague, referring to those 'cursed by Magic'. What that meant, Sirius did not know.
Was it a group of dark wizards? According to Harry, however, it was the Muggles. And that topic was never easy for anyone to discuss. Many witches and wizards had tried to walk the same path and had failed, leading to enormous destruction and loss of lives.
Gellert Grindelwald had been the most dangerous of them all. Voldemort was close, but he just couldn't compete with the likes of Grindelwald, partly due to his lack of sanity and charisma; that insanity had destroyed any chance of the former gaining power abroad, while the latter had followers all over the world. Voldemort had been a power-hungry madman who many abroad referred to as a rabid dog, while his predecessor was an extremely intelligent wizard who the world looked up to for trying to solve the problems the International Statute of Secrecy had created. Grindelwald had created a scenario where he had managed to get half the international magical population to unite against the Muggles.
His words, 'Who is the law trying to protect, us or them?' were infamous, and Sirius knew that even Harry agreed with Grindelwald in that regard. The man's actions, however, led to his downfall. His radical claim that the end justified the means led to the deaths of thousands of witches and wizards, and by the mid-1950s, Grindelwald was not as popular as he once was. Had Dumbledore not stopped him, a wizard-Muggle war would have been inevitable, especially since it had only been a decade after the end of the Muggle Second World War. Tensions then had still been high.
Sirius had promised himself that he wouldn't let his adopted son walk down a similar path. While Harry genuinely wanted to help witches and wizards, his actions could be misinterpreted by others in the magical world, and that would be dangerous. There were many who were just as awed as they were scared by the sheer magical power that the young man held at his fingertips. Sirius knew that Harry was correct. He was not an idiot. He had read his history books and had survived two wars. However, the boy's policies were too revolutionary for people to accept. Sirius couldn't help but think that Harry's ideas for the future of the magical world were just not practical, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to listen. While others would scoff at Divination, the patriarch of the Black family did not underestimate the ancient art. The power of Fate should never be underestimated.
"Harry, I know what you're going to say," he said quietly. "But you have to understand that your actions are too radical. I doubt the Wizengamot will even listen to you."
"This is not about the Muggle-born children, Dad," Harry said softly. Not yet, at least. "This is something completely different. I have spent two years on this idea, so will you hear me out?"
The Minister nodded wearily.
Harry's Avada Kedavra green eyes gazed outside the windows. While the Boy-Who-Lived held sufficient sway with the masses, he knew that he couldn't implement his major reforms without his adoptive parents supporting him. Harry was still eighteen years old and had not entered the political sphere. His ideas had to be delivered through the Minister of Magic, and the sooner that happened, the better. His focus was not the development of Magical Britain; that could be left to his father. His goal was something bigger, but for that, he would have to start small, right here at home.
"I know that the prophecy freaked you out. To be honest, I was, and still am, unnerved by it. But we can't ignore what it says. We have dealt with a prophecy before. Trying to stop what is going to happen by talking drastic steps will actually create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Voldemort learnt that the hard way when he tried to kill me as a child. I don't want that. I don't want a war. However, I will not sit back and ignore what Trelawney said either. Dad, I honestly don't know what my destiny truly is, but I will not back away from it, no matter what the consequences."
"I never expected you to," muttered Sirius, staring into the distance. It was not in Harry's nature to ever be on the sidelines. If he put his mind to something, nothing could stop him. Voldemort's death was proof of that.
Harry flicked his wand, summoning several newspapers. He spread them out on Sirius' desk. "Look at the headlines," he said. "Tensions in the Muggle world are growing, Dad, and it's not something that is going to disappear. Unfortunately, Voldemort's actions did not help matters at all. Right now, we're in a very tight spot."
"How so?"
"If London were to be attacked by Muggles due to another war, what would happen to Diagon Alley or the Ministry building? Or St Mungo's?"
Sirius frowned. "Our various protective enchantments should take care of it, Harry. After all, the Ministry headquarters, St Mungo's, and Diagon Alley didn't even suffer a starch during the Muggle Second World War during the bombing. What makes you think the wards won't hold?"
"Two words," shot back Harry. "Nuclear weapons."
Sirius remained silent.
"How are we to know when those filthy Muggles would use those contraptions?" asked Harry, a hint of anger showing on his face. "Can you imagine the repercussions of such an attack? Diagon Alley houses tens of thousands of witches and wizards. Magical Britain's entire economy is regulated by Gringotts. All our treasures are located there. If London were to be attacked, do you think the bank and all its treasures, not to mention the magical citizens of this city, would survive? What about the Ministry building itself?"
"And how do you propose we protect ourselves? Create a massive shield around the entire city?"
"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "First of all, powering and maintaining such a shield would be ridiculously expensive around a Muggle city. Second, why should we waste our gold on the non-magical population? We won't be in danger if witches and wizards don't function among Muggles. If we're in a completely different area, how could the infighting of the Muggles affect us?"
How could the Muggles find us, if the Statute is ever broken, if we're completely invisible to their sensors, away from their major cities?
Sirius barked out a laugh. "When I said that your ideas were radical, I really didn't think you would go this far," he said, smiling in amusement. "You want to relocate the Ministry headquarters, St Mungo's Hospital, several wizarding homes in London, and all of Diagon Alley?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry, kiddo, but that's just not practical. Can you even imagine the amount of the gold required for such a massive undertaking? Our tax revenue will never be enough to cover such expansion."
"I know that," answered Harry quickly, "which is why I have a plan for us to work with. Tell me, why is Hogsmeade the only non-Muggle settlement in all of Magical Britain? Why has there been no effort from anyone to expand the village and convert it into a city? Why not create more non-Muggle settlements like that, with only witches and wizards as residents?"
"As I already told you, it's all because of money. The Ministry would have done it if we had the money."
Harry smirked. He removed a thick file from within his backpack and passed it to his adoptive father. With a casual wave of his hand, a large mirror appeared in front of them, the screen displaying charts and diagrams for him to explain.
"Getting the money to construct a new city has been impossible until now," he explained. "That's the reason the Ministry headquarters has been underground for so many centuries. After the implantation of the International Statute of Secrecy –"
"– people found it convenient to use the underground building, so they never bothered to shift to another location," finished Sirius, looking very interested. "Go on."
"The problem we have right now is that witches and wizards are scattered all over the country, residing in various Muggle areas. However, that will prove to be very dangerous if a situation ever develops where the Statute is irrevocably breached or if there is another Muggle war. However, if we have purely magical cities, with large residential and commercial dwellings together, we wouldn't have to worry about an attack. Maintaining the Statute of Secrecy will also be less of a burden because it would be a non-Muggle area."
"In theory, it's a wonderful plan," replied Sirius, "and something which has existed in other parts of the world for hundreds of years now. The concept of non-Muggle cities is not a problem. The topic has been debated many times over the years by members of the Wizengamot, but the questions have always been about where these cities would be located and how to fund them. With the amount of corruption in the Ministry, the plans never made the light of day."
"I'm getting to that. Hogsmeade is readily available. There is empty land for several kilometres without any Muggle activity around the village. Converting it into a city wouldn't be much of a hassle. However, there is another dwelling that has several magical families residing in it, but it has quite a few Muggles there as well."
"Godric's Hollow."
"Yes," smiled Harry, pleased that his father was grasping it so quickly. "That village is our oldest settlement, dating back to the time of Lord Ignotus Peverell, long before King Arthur ascended to the throne. It's the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor and has a very historical significance for everyone in Magical Britain. Shouldn't that be converted into a non-Muggle dwelling as well?"
"Not possible," replied Sirius, shaking his head. "There are already Muggles who are living in the village –"
"We can move them to another place," interrupted Harry. "I know what you're going to say, but think about it. We can compensate those Muggles by giving them money and a Confundus Charm should take care of them if they don't want to leave. Their stupid paper currency is quite cheap, you know. It would be a pittance to buy the Muggle properties. We can make a deal with the witches and wizards of Hogsmeade and Godric's Hollow. Those who already own houses there will only have to pay the minimum amount required for the new building. The Ministry can construct several houses by outsourcing it to various magical construction companies from around the world. Different designs, various sizes, with different configurations, and all of them can be sold once they are ready. Since the Ministry owns the land through compulsory acquisition, you can make quite a profit from the sale, and use that money to construct a third city, the one that will house the headquarters of the British Ministry of Magic – a city named Camelot. I'm sure you can find a deserted stretch of land for it."
Sirius raised his eyebrows in surprise when he looked through the various sheets of parchment. "You consulted a team of Confederation Certified Accountants to actually create a budget?"
"I didn't want to approach you until I had all the details figured out," answered Harry honestly. "You'll see that the Ministry would be self-sufficient for the construction of Camelot. Sure, you'll need initial capital for Hogsmeade and Godric's Hollow, but that can be arranged through the I.C.W."
Sirius nodded. Harry was silent for the next thirty minutes as his father meticulously went through the projected finances. Finally, the older man broke the silence. "I'm very impressed, Harry," he said sincerely. "You're right; this is certainly plausible. Diagon Alley and the various other shopping districts throughout the country can be shifted to any of the three cities."
Mentally, Harry nodded in satisfaction. The first phase of his plan was set in motion. Convincing Sirius had been the initial step, but he could see that his father was very much considering it. The benefits of this project were just too hard to ignore. Keeping their distance from the Muggles world meant a reduction in taxes and better control over the Statute of Secrecy.
"I'll form a committee to look into this before tabling it in front of the Wizengamot," announced Sirius. "I'll let you know of any progress."
Harry agreed as he walked out of Sirius' office a couple of hours later, having given the Minister of Magic everything he had planned for the development of the magical cities. Really, such projects should have been implemented a long time ago. Most of the world had moved ahead, and Britain was still content with staying underground in Muggle populated areas. But that was not Harry's agenda. He wanted the magical populace as far away from the Muggles as possible, and these plans would ensure of that. Within a span of five to seven years, construction and rehabilitation would be complete. Then, he would implement stage two of his plan for completely separating from the Muggle world.
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
Harry opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of the massive gates of Hogwarts castle. With a spring in his step, he walked towards the front doors of the castle. The grounds had changed over the past two years. The cool evening air ruffled his hair as he caught several of the younger year students enjoying the end of their exams while the older years studied for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Many were playing Quidditch with the various hoops that were placed all over the grounds.
At a distance, Harry could spot the large dome-shaped structure near the Forbidden Forest. That was the Hogwarts Magical Creatures Sanctuary, housing many magical creatures that Hagrid happily took care of. A hint of a smile formed on his face as he entered the castle, quickly walking to his intended destination. The locket he wore around his neck gave out a pulse of magic, informing him of her location, and his heart began beating faster.
After all, it had been nearly a month since he had seen her. He had been away due to the various presentations he had to give for claiming his Master's degrees. But now, he was finally home ... and he couldn't wait to have her in his arms.
HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP
"I just want to get these exams over with," grumbled Astoria. She was in the Hogwarts library, studying for her O.W.L.s. "They're driving me crazy!"
Dylan chuckled from beside her. He took her hand and kissed her fingers delicately. "How about a distraction, Miss Greengrass?" he asked coyly.
Astoria smirked. "What do you have in mind?" she whispered.
"You both aren't going anywhere," said Daphne suddenly from behind her book. Her eyes narrowed. "You have exams tomorrow."
"Oh, come on Daph, we know it all!" whined Dylan.
Astoria nodded frantically. "And I could really use a massage," she said quickly. "It will definitely help us relax."
Daphne's lips twitched. "From personal experience, I know that a massage will quickly turn into sex," she said wryly, making the two younger teenagers redden in embarrassment. Blue eyes twinkling in amusement, she added, "Just keep your lovemaking to your room, will you? I don't want to walk in on you in the common room. Oh, and silencing charms would be most appreciated."
Dylan snorted. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black," he muttered as he quickly steered Astoria away. "I've spent the last three years getting used to them having sex in the suite's common room while I do my homework. You'd think they'd be more considerate since I live with them too, but nooo ..."
"You know what? I'm feeling rebellious!" declared Astoria, smirking at her sister. "If she and Harry don't care about privacy, why should we too? Come on, Dylan, that sofa in the common room looks quite comfortable!"
"Happy humping!" Daphne called out loudly to the couple.
"Shhhhh!" the librarian, Madam Pince, admonished from her position a few feet away, looking angry. Muttering under her breath, she walked away, glaring at any other student who would dare speak loudly in her library.
Daphne stuck her tongue out at Dylan playfully which he returned. Chuckling, she went back to her Arithmancy notes as she prepared for her presentation that was due in a week's time. After that, she would be a certified master in the fields of Charms and Arithmancy, paving the way for higher studies in the field of Enchanting. Her fingers kept drumming on the table as she tried to think of anything other than her fiancé. She missed Harry terribly.
Exhaling in frustration, she got up and headed to the Restricted Section to refer to another book on Advanced Spell-Crafting. Just when she was browsing through the thick tomes of books, she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist, their chin resting on her shoulder.
She closed her eyes in contentment as she leaned against his strong, muscular chest.
"Miss me?"