Chapter 37: Epilogue
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Time was passing. Many things were changing. The magical world turned back to its roots. Eight years after the victory over their enemies, Potter Manor was hosting its first ball in a quarter of a century. The mistress of the manor, a beautiful Frenchwoman, was greeting the guests with a radiant smile. Her husband stood next to her and smiled faintly. Not many mages were honoured by his sincere smile when he appeared.
As he greeted the next couple of guests, the owner of the manor was far from them in his thoughts. Nine years had passed since he had begun his life for the second time and eight years had passed since his enemies - himself and his friends - had been given what they deserved. Much effort had been invested by the four young mages in making the magical world what the first mages had willed it to be. In this difficult task he and his friends were helped by their nearest and dearest people: the Blacks, Malfoys, Longbottoms, Crouches, Delacours, Greengrasses and Bootlestraws. Not all of them were privy to the truth of life of four wizards and one witch, thanks to whom the magical world did not fall into oblivion and was spared from a crazy leader who considered his opinion and his actions the only right. But no matter what, it was these families, led by their young leaders became the pillars on which the whole of magical Britain now relies.
After that fateful day - the day of the last round of the tournament - the world began to change. Azkaban was scoured, court cases were reviewed, some laws were repealed, some were revived. Many officials lost their seats, some of them went to prison for a period of time determined by the new judiciary, others paid huge fines. Slowly but surely the power passed into the hands of the purebloods. Regulus Black played a major role in this. To legalise the return of the descendant of an ancient family to the magical world, the guys played the card that not all the mages undesirable to Dumbledore were killed, they were simply thrown into Azkaban. Complicated spells and some potions gave the younger Black a haggard look and during the inspection of the prison he was "discovered", after which he was recognised as a victim of the deeds of the former Head of the Wizengamot. A year later, Regulus was elected Minister of Magic. Fudge's deeds were not made public. Immediately after announcing his resignation, he supposedly disappeared from the country. In fact, in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, he was offered a choice: deprivation of magic and memory erasure or poison. Fudge chose the former. After that, the mindless man was found by the doctor on duty on the steps of the hospital. None of the magicians were interested in the fate of the former Minister.
The second prisoner of the dungeons of the old manor - Barty Crouch Senior - was not even offered a choice. The mage had done too much evil and maimed the fates of dozens of wizards, one of whom was his own son. Lucius, who took on the role of his executioner, personally brought Crouch Sr. a juice that had a few drops of poison in it. The dead mage's body was burned and the ashes scattered. Barty did not wish to see his abuser father lying in the family crypt where his mother's remains had been moved from the Azkaban cemetery.
Dumbledore's actions at the last test of the tournament could have been the reason for breaking off all relations between Bulgaria and France and Britain. This was prevented by an emergency meeting of the Council of Lords, which governed the country until Regulus Black was elected Minister of Magic. They had struggled to persuade the Ministers of the two countries not to declare war on them and to maintain their previous relations. Their main argument was that all of Britain should not suffer because of the actions of one mad wizard. They also had to offer several lucrative projects as an apology. The matter ended in peace.
One summer day, the Aurorate received a signal that some magician was spreading unforgivable curses in the centre of London. That day, the auror squad apprehended Alastor Moody, who was completely insane and eager to kill anyone in his sight. After the trial, the old auror was sent to St Mungo's, a ward for the mentally ill. Around the same time, the trial of Minerva McGonagall took place. The woman had been in a holding cell since the end of the last trial of the tournament. It was she who had attacked and injured Madame Maxime, seeing her as a threat to Dumbledore. A lot of unflattering things about the Dean of Gryffindor came out at the trial, but the most important thing was that the woman considered all the actions of her former boss to be absolutely correct. A fan of Dumbledore's. She was awarded twenty years in Azkaban.
Shacklebolt and several other loyal to the former headmaster of Hogwarts aurors flew with a wolf ticket from the Aurorate and were sentenced to corrective labour for the benefit of Britain. They were exiled to Africa, where the mining of stone to be used in the construction of new magical objects was just beginning.
But perhaps the most important event of the summer and autumn of 1995, after their victory over Dumbledore, Harry considered the publication of a book by Mrs Runge. The book was entitled "The Life of Albus Dumbledore: A Dream of the Collapse of Britain's Magicians." Madam Runge, aka Miss Bellatrix Black did a great job. Much had been told to her by the boys about the old man's past and his actions in a future that would never come again. But she had found something on her own, and something that Skeeter had not got to in her past life. And the book also included the stories of the broken lives of Bellatrix herself, the Longbottom couple and their son, Harry, Lily and James Potter, the Pruetts and Ron, Sirius and Regulus Black, and several other colourful members of the magical world who were currently either dead or occupying cells in Azkaban.
Albus Dumbledore's own life, after his last public appearance was now bland and coloured in the pale yellow of the walls of the ward for the raving lunatics. The whole twist was that the former Headmaster of Hogwarts was quite sane. Only no one believed it, just as no one else believed in his honesty, kindness, and integrity. To everyone, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was now pure evil. His name had become a household name in the magical world and was used in the worst curses on the head of an enemy or the foulest swear words. The most necessary person for Dumbledore was Harry, the young mage during his visits to the former headmaster's chamber only laughed in response to all his curses and with manic pleasure told how everything that the old man had built for many years was crumbling, how mages hated him and spat after saying the name of the former leader of the Light, how he and his friends destroyed the reputation of all those who were loyal to the old man. And Harry and his friends had also told him that they had already lived once life and having travelled back in time knew all his plans ahead of time. Dumbledore then looked round at the boys with a jubilant look, happy that he had been able to realise his plans. But the joy was short-lived. The boys had come up with a version of his past life in advance, according to which it appeared that he had accepted death at the hands of Voldemort. They never told him the truth. Teasing him with the fact that the old man had been an even bigger wimp in THAT life than in this one, and that it was they, the Dark Lord's loyal supporters, who had got his plans out of him.
Every year the boys came together on the same day. The day they defeated the enemy. It was a day they never planned anything for. And it was on this day that the four young mages immersed themselves in memories. They would talk about THAT life of theirs and dive into a dumossee, reviewing bits and pieces from THIS one. The viewing always ended with the same memory that Lucius Malfoy had copied and given them. A memory of what had happened while they were in the maze.
Regulus had played his part perfectly that day. He had filled the mead with a potion of madness, having drunk the antidote himself beforehand, and offered Dumbledore a sip for Hogwarts' victory in the tournament. On the flask that contained the drink, Lucius had cast special spells of birth magic. It was impossible to recognise them. Dumbledore agreed and took a drink. He actually thought he had taken a couple of sips of wine. But he hadn't. The mead itself had some strange effect on Albus's body, and together with the madness potion it blew all the brakes altogether. He then suddenly jumped up from his seat, grabbed his wand from his sleeve, and pulled the bears and salamanders out of the maze with an emergency portal. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff were outraged by this, and began to accuse the old man of doing it on purpose so that the Tigers would win. Dumbledore then yelled that four of his students had disappeared from the labyrinth and were now attending Voldemort's revival. Upon hearing such a thing, Fleur immediately threw herself into the fray, defending the good name of her lover and friends. Dumbledore threw a curse beam at her, but the girl dodged it. A duel ensued, in which the Headmasters of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang stood united against the Headmaster of Hogwarts and his deputy, as McGonagall instantly joined the fight, as soon as the first curse was hurled in the direction of her leader. The Aurors, who had come to their senses from such an absurd development, tried to separate the duelists. When Dumbledore realised that they were outnumbered, he made another move, taking the Minister hostage. During the duel, Karkaroff was hit pretty hard by the old man's slashing curse, Madame Maxime was wounded in the shoulder - McGonagall had hit her with something from her arsenal, and the other professors, who wanted to stop the Headmasters, were hit with light curses, but caught a stray curse or a targeted one from the members of the Order of the Phoenix, who sided with their leader without a second thought. And then Dumbledore assured everyone that Harry Potter was personally involved in the ritual of Voldemort's revival and his friends were helping him with it. The boys appeared just in the middle of this speech...
After such a speech by Dumbledore, no one doubted his insanity. The trial took place two days later and the old man was sent to a ward for the violent, isolated from the other patients. The medics, changing their rules, did not treat him, during the checks stating that the treatment was useless. The life of the former leader of the Light had become a hell, and almost monthly visits of his four young enemies drove the old man to frenzy, but there was nothing he could do about it.
- No, mate, I understand. None of us like these social events, but will you listen to your conscience and welcome us? - Draco's voice broke into Harry's thoughts.
- Oh, Malfoy, stop making noise. You always make the most noise. Where's my godson, anyway?" Harry smirked, glaring at his friend's fiercely glaring eyes.
- Here he is, Harry," Daphne chuckled softly, gently pushing a platinum-haired three-year-old baby boy out from behind the puffy skirt of her evening gown, dressed in a dark grey, tiny, ceremonial robe. - Scorpius was embarrassed by so many people, but had been buzzing our ears all the way home about how much he missed his godfather.
The child glanced shyly at Harry and Fleur before hiding his face in the folds of the skirt of his mother's dress.
- Scorpy, baby, come here," Harry called softly to his godson and squatted down.
- Potter, don't you dare twist my son's name! - Draco was outraged.
- Malfoy, if I had a name like that, I'd have hung....
- Darling," the folded fan dropped to the top of Harry's head, "don't you dare finish that sentence. There are children here.
- Of course, darling. Anyway, your Slytherin pallor, you know what I mean. Scorpy, little one, don't you want to take pity on your godfather, or that wicked lady hit me," Potter made such a doting expression on his face that Fleur and Daphne jumped with laughter.
- 'Go on, son, go and crack that twerp from me as well. Ay, sweetie, why!? - Draco glanced resentfully at his consort, who was smiling sweetly as she handed Lady Potter the fan.
- If you teach MY son bad things, I'll take your father's cane," Daphne threatened.
Meanwhile, Scorpius settled himself in Harry's arms and began stroking his head with his small hand, whispering in his ear that he was going to fix him up and then give him a present he had made for his godfather. Potter listened attentively to his godson, smiling with the edge of his lips. When he stopped "treating" his godfather, the little boy pulled out a present from the pocket of his robes. It turned out to be a stone on a string. Upon closer inspection, Harry was surprised to realise that the child had made a very real artefact. The rope was a unicorn's hair braided into a braid, and the magical crystal was held on it with silver wire. This artefact was clearly meant for peace of mind. The little boy had made a very valuable gift, though he didn't realise it himself yet.
Harry immediately hung the gift around his neck and hugged his godson tightly.
- Thank you.
- Ah, what a touching scene," came Ron's slightly mocking voice.
Harry didn't notice the rest of his friends and their families arriving.
- Don't tease, you ginger monster," Potter smirked, pulling Scorpius down from his arms.
The little boy immediately hid behind Fleur's skirt and began to look at the new arrivals from there. Lady Potter smiled. There was a reason she had chosen a dress with a puffy skirt. Two boys managed to hide behind her at the moment: her husband's godson and her and Harry's son.
- Malfoy, I don't recognise your son as you. Is it proper for someone with such a proud family name to hide behind ladies' skirts? - Neville chuckled, extending his hand to shake the manor master's hand.
- Whose festral is snorting," Draco said, pointing at the child clutching at his mother's robe in embarrassment.
- Leave the children alone," Millicenta snapped at the men ready to start a fight. - Harry, Fleur, good evening.
- Good evening, Milly," Potter leaned over the woman's outstretched hand, imprinting a weightless kiss on the back of her palm.
He rubbed the chubby cheek of the Longbottom heir and smiled wickedly at the baby before turning round. Soon the four three year old boys were sent to the nursery, all the guests arrived and the ball began. After about an hour, Draco discreetly called Harry, Neville and Ron off to the balcony. There were already four champagne flutes on the railing.
The men talked about nothing for a few minutes, smoked a cigarette each, and only then did Draco say what he had gathered his friends for by taking them away from the party.
- Would you like me to tell you something that will make tonight unforgettable?
- Of course," Harry answered for everyone.
- Dumbledore is dead. He attempted to escape from Mungo's and managed to get to the window. He wanted to jump out, it's not that high up there, it's only the third floor. Probably counting on his magic. But the edge of his hospital gown caught on the window sill and he fell headlong, right on the visor of the main entrance. I'd been told about it an hour before I came here.
The silence that followed the news didn't last long. Five seconds later the night air was cut through by a concerted shout of "Hurrah" and the flutes clinked against each other.....
THE END.
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