I started this story on June 13th 2020 (on fanfiction.net). It was supposed to be a way for me to share a random idea I had. Until then, I had only written a collection of PJO one-shots and did not think that I would manage to finish it. I was simply counting down the days until it became too much and I'd have to put it on hiatus.
But 5 months and 50 chapters later, here we are. The story is done. Harry and Rishi have gone from two 7 year old kids who met by chance into men and brothers. They've grown up considerably and I have too. This story has introduced to me the fanfiction world in its glory. I got to experience the feeling of hearing that people love your story. I also got to experience people pointing out my story's problems. Those reviews hurt but they made me a better person.
I know this hasn't been a perfect story, but thank you all for joining me on the adventure that it provided. You're as important to the story as I am. Without your support, I probably would've given up a long time ago. Those early reviews alleviated my concerns and gave me so much confidence as a writer. I've been able to try my hand at so many new things and that's helped my writing a lot. I'd like to thank everyone for their support, especially those people who took the time to review on almost every chapter. You know who you are, and thank you.
I know you all probably want to get to the story so here it is. The final chapter of the Stand. I hope you enjoy it. This takes place 16 years after the final battle.
Daphne looked at Jonathan sternly "And I want to see good grades, young man! It better be all Os!"
Harry chuckled and mock-whispered to his son "Don't worry about doing that. Your mother never managed all Os."
His wife glared at him "Don't give him any ideas!"
Harry smiled and looked at John "But seriously, you better do good. If not, your broom's gone."
John frowned "My broom? But I need it for Quidditch!"
He got a shrug in response "I've heard that the school brooms are very good."
As John tried to figure out why his parents were laughing, his twin came running through the barrier and to him "Where is everyone? We have to get on the train soon! We need to get an empty compartment!"
"God, you remind me of your father" Daphne told her "Every year, he'd explain why getting onto the train early was important. He was always the first in the compartment."
Harry rolled his eyes "And every year, you made fun of me for it. I like being punctual."
His daughter smiled "Yeah! I agree with Dad!"
"See, that's why you're my favorite daughter" was what she got in return from her father. Emily then got a contemplative look on her face "But, I'm your only daughter. So I have to be your favorite."
Unwilling to lose his favorite joke, Harry suddenly found Rishi and Parvati in the crowd "Hey guys!"
Rishi grinned as he walked over with Parvati and Jai in tow "Hi Emily! Hi John! Ready to start Hogwarts?"
Emily and John both nodded eagerly, before both greeted Rishi's son "Hi Jai! Ready for Hogwarts?"
"You mean, is Hogwarts ready for me" Jai corrected with a laugh.
Daphne barely resisted face palming "God, he's worse than Rishi."
Parvati nodded "Tell me about it. Dealing with Rishi when we were younger was hard enough. Now, I have two of them.."
"Where's Devya?" Harry asked, not seeing Jai's younger sister.
"Devya, sweetie" Parvati looked down "Come out and say hi."
A little head poked out from behind Parvati's legs and murmured "Hi."
"She's still in her shy phase" her mother chuckled.
"She must've gotten it from me" a voice called out as she walked towards them "No way she got it from her parents."
"Padma" Parvati exclaimed, hugging her approaching sister "What're you doing here?"
"Can't a girl take time out her day to watch her nephew on his first day of Hogwarts anymore?" Padma said with mock shock.
"You're an unspeakable" was the reply she got "You're not supposed to have time."
"Fair" Padma responded before kneeling before her niece "Hi honey. You excited to see your brother go to Hogwarts?"
Devya nodded, staying quiet. Padma smiled and asked why. Devya finally spoke then "The house will be quiet."
That sent everyone into hoards of laughter, which is the state which Draco found his friends "Hello dear friends!"
His words led to him being bombarded with hugs and handshakes. There were also many questions regarding Scorpius' location which were resolved quickly when Scorpius gave running to the group.
Draco's wife, Tracey, also ran over. Once she arrived, she lit into her husband "Did you encourage our son to run from me?"
"Maybe..."
Tracey shook her head "Idiot."
"We warned you" Rishi told her "We said 'Draco's a dumbass. Are you sure you want this?'"
"And I'll say it again, I knew what I was getting into" Tracey told the Indian man.
"Can we go?" Jai whined "I'm bored!"
Jai's comment sparked a wave of goodbyes, hugs and kisses before the 4 kids boarded the Hogwarts Express for their first year in Hogwarts. Each parent had tears in their eyes as they watched their kids try to find a compartment.
"They grow up so quickly" Harry said.
"They do when the writer skips over their whole fucking childhood" Padma muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing" was the response Padma gave.
"Sucks that Neville and Luna couldn't make it out here" Daphne commented "Same with Hermione."
Draco snorted "They're teachers. I didn't expect them to come. I'd be concerned if they did."
"I know. But still, it sucks that they can't come" Daphne told her friend, exasperated with him.
"Well, I have to head to work" from Padma caused the group to splinter, all heading to their jobs. Finally, only Rishi and Harry were left.
Harry chuckled "I took the day off today."
Rishi grinned "What I coincidence! I did too!"
"It's almost as if we planned this out yesterday" Harry laughed.
"Leaky Cauldron?" Rishi asked his old friend.
"Let's go" the two friends strode off, laughing and talking about the past.
They were having drinks at the bar when Harry randomly said "I can't believe. It was like yesterday that I was a 7 year old getting beat up by Dudley. Now, I'm a successful man."
Rishi laughed "Yeah. It's like I just found you at the school."
Harry nodded "To think, it all began with someone finally standing up to all the Dursleys' shit."
"A toast" Rishi raised his glass of firewhiskey "To the day someone took a stand."
"To the day we met" Harry added.
"Cheers" the two brothers said in unison before drinking.
Albus Dumbledore died in Azkaban as did Molly, Ron and Ginny Boseman. It was said that Molly and Ron died cursing Harry Potter's name while Ginny died begging for his hand in marriage. Albus Dumbledore reportedly died saying "My fault."
Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour got married a year after the Battle of Hogwarts. Cedric rose up the ranks of aurors, eventually becoming the Head Auror after Kingsley Shacklebolt's retirement. Fleur taught at Hogwarts until Beauxbatons came calling. She then began teaching there, spending time with Cedric during the holidays. Despite this, their love is strong.
The Weasleys Twins soon went worldwide, selling their prank items all over the world. Their Hogsmeade shop soon became one of the most popular shops in the wizarding town (and led to Filch suffering a fatal heart attack). Arthur brought the Weasley family back to glory, and became one of the most respected men in the country. He later rose to the rank of Deputy Minister of Magic.
After attaining a mastery in Charms, Hermione applied for a job at Hogwarts. She began as a teaching assistant to Professor Flitwick, but after his retirement, she took over the post. She taught until the age of 35, when she retired to be with her husband, Viktor Krum, along with her kids. Viktor played Quidditch until retiring at 35. He then became a stay-at-home dad, taking care of their kids.
Padma Patil became an Unspeakable and quickly began rising in their ranks. She went by the code name, Lotus, and quickly became famous for her research regarding time travel and how to improve Time Turners. Of course, her work was kept under tight security. Padma knew from experience how easy it was to break into the Department of Mysteries. She never married.
When Professor Sprout retired, Neville was quickly appointed the next Herbology Professor. Before then, he traveled the world, finding new plant life and creating notes on their uses. His wife Luna joined him on his journey, spending her time finding evidence of the existence for the animals which until then, only she saw. When Neville became the Herbology Professor, she became the CoMC teacher. Every student loved her class, leading to it becoming one of the most popular classes.
Draco Malfoy mulled over his career options for a year after Hogwarts before ultimately deciding to honor his godfather. He attained his mastery in Potions and worked at home, creating potions. It also allowed him to spend time with Scorpius and his married his old Yule Ball date, Tracey Davis, who worked as a banker in Gringotts.
After dating for 3 years, Sirius proposed to Amanda on their anniversary. 4 months later, in a wedding planned by Parvati, the two were wed. Sirius was sterile due to after effects from being in Azkaban but that didn't matter to the couple. Amanda worked as the Defense professor until she was promoted to Headmaster after McGonnagall's retirement. Sirius stayed in his role as Head of the DMLE. And when, Amelia Bones resigned as Minister (citing the feeling that her job was done), Sirius was sworn in as the Minister of Magic, with Arthur as his deputy. Under him, wizarding Britain's population peaked and was very peaceful.
Rishi Gopal and Parvati Patil got married after 8 years of being together. After spendig 5 years working at Madam Malkin's, Parvati opened her own shop in Diagon Alley where she sold magical clothing. She even partnered with the Weasleys Twins to sell their magical clothing for them so they could focus on their pranks. Her protective gear became mandatory for any auror and her robes were the obvious choice for school.
Rishi abandoned his first dream of being a curse breaker and became a lawyer as he mentioned to Harry in Wizengamot. He began by working under Andromeda Tonks, before opening up his own firm. After 2 years, his firm rose to be the premier firm in all of Britain. They partnered with the DMLE as law advisors and if you could, you always asked them to represent you.
Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter got married a year after Rishi and Parvati. Daphne worked as a potions mistress, creating potions for people in need. After a few years after her children graduated, she was asked to teach Potions at Hogwarts. She accepted the offer and turned Potions from a despised class to a popular one.
As for her husband, he finished his mandatory 3 year Healer Training with Madam Pomfrey with his graduation. Harry then went to work at St Mungo's, and became a respected healer. He had the ability to deal bad news in a soothing tone and could help with almost any tone. It reached the point where people asked for him by name, until they had to put out a statement asking for people to stop. He became the Head Healer within 10 years of him joining the staff and no one disputed the claim. Harry even managed to control his fame enough to live a normal life. Soon, he was known as the greatest wizard since Merlin, and he died that way, with his friends beside him. He was the Boy-Who-Lived, the Man-Who-Conquered, but most of all, he was Harry Potter.
Thanks for reading the final chapter. Please leave a review. I hope to see you all soon.