Chapter 609

Around the last week of July, several important developments took place.

The first was the official announcement by the Ministry of Magic stating that the state of war had been lifted, and so the stone that had been hanging in the air finally fell to the ground. Even the wizard population, which had been secretly celebrating for some time, could not contain their excitement and joy and once again marched out into the streets to cheer for peace, because this announcement meant that the Ministry of Magic had come to an official conclusion and marked the end of the war.

Together with this, the announcement of investigations and testimonies of the wizard criminals who committed crimes during the war was published.

Some of the pure-blood families breathed a sigh of relief.

The second development surprised all those who heard about it for the first time and had a much wider impact – Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, voluntarily resigned from his position as Head of the International Confederation of Wizards on the grounds that he had grown too old.

“Well, it’s not surprising,” Hagrid said in a jarred voice, sitting in the living room sofa of Black’s old mansion, occupying two seats all by himself, “all those foreign fellows going on and on about how much damage they’ve suffered at the International Confederation, it’s all pure bollocks! The You-Know-Who hasn’t even been rampaging out there for a full two months altogether.”

“What are they demanding for?” Bill asked.

“A lot,” Mr. Weasley said, wiping his glasses, “as you know, the You-Know-Who first took the snakewood wand from the Ilvermorny School and murdered their Headmaster at the school gates; after a brief period of silence, he was once again on the prowl, looting the treasures of various countries –”

“The Gringotts alone has lost quite a lot.” Bill interjected.

“-yes,” Mr. Weasley said, “it was evident that the You-Know-Who showed great interest in magical items that were rumoured to be of great power; the cloak of invisibility that had been passed down for a thousand years, the mask of immortality in Africa, the coffin of death in Egypt, the Elven springs in Northern Europe …”

“Are there really such things?” Harry, who had been listening silently, asked out loud, “I thought it was all fake, like, like -” he and Ron looked at each other and Ron muttered, “like a fairy tale.”

“Something like that,” Mr. Weasley said with a frown, “I suspect that none of those items could match their great reputation, they’re all – they’re all just blown out of proportion. But the thing is, now they’re all gone, they can’t be found.”

“Gone?” Mundungus repeated in a low voice, with a greedy, cunning gleam in his eyes, “Could they have been hidden away by He Who Must Not Be Named? Somewhere in England, there exist great hidden treasures?”

“Or it could have been destroyed or lost.” Bill said, “Remember that incident in Switzerland? In a black market, the goblin chief there claimed to have vampire fangs that could put people into a false state of death, and the rumours spread like wildfire … only to be proven that they were actually werewolf fangs, and the You-Know-Who who ended up with nothing went on a killing spree and not many people survived… …”

Mundungus let out a sigh that was mixed with derision and sympathy.

“It’s obvious that the You-Know-Who wanted the real thing and that old goblin bumped into the steel plate.”

“But Voldemort also took a lot of treasure with him, didn’t he?” Harry asked, “Maybe that means those items are real or at least have some effect.”

Bill shrugged.

“I guess it’s more likely that the You-Know-Who was unable to determine the authenticity for a while and needed to go back and research it more closely, which is a delicate task. But … we can only guess, and in the end, we managed to recover only a handful of collections – from Bellatrix Lestrange.”

“Ah.” Ron said.

“Yeah, and those third-rate tabloids are making up all sorts of crap about the illicit love affair between the Dark Lord and his most loyal follower, led by Rita Skeeter … Bollocks, they should really see what the hell that woman has become in the end… …”

“I’ve heard …” Mundungus said in a lowered voice, “that it was Hap cough – Mr. Hap who first found her, right at the edge of the battlefield where Dumbledore and the You-Know-Who dueling, a few hundred feet deep underground …”

“Don’t have any ill thoughts.” Mr. Weasley warned him kindly.

“I know – I wouldn’t dare,” Mundungus muttered, “Mr. Hap is a great alchemist himself and has inherited Nicolas Flamel’s wealth, so how could he look at all that crap …” Although he said that, he knew that Mr. Hap was interested in old artefacts, and he planned to ask about it sometime later, if Mr. Hap had any intention of ‘selling’ them, he wouldn’t mind going back to his old job of doing some dirty work for others and earn the difference.

This is when big people like Mr. Hap would need someone like him …

“Apart from the recovery of the stolen goods, I heard that there were some small countries who had heard from somewhere that the You-Know-Who is not dead and demanded to join the trial, in short, it was a messy situation. Oh yeah, didn’t they set up an international Auror squad at the time, which had quite a few deaths? These are all troubling issues.”

By two or three o’clock in the afternoon, more and more people had arrived.

Some stayed to chat, other after brief greetings went to Burrow through the fireplace.

As the war came to an end, the Order of the Phoenix had completed its purpose. They originally volunteered to fight for a noble mission, and now the time had come to fall into silence again, just as they had at the end of the first war.

Before parting, they intended to hold a Bonfire Party.

“Are we going to dance in the living room with torches lit?” Tonks asked cheerfully, “I wouldn’t mind that-”

“I don’t mind either,” Sirius said, “but this is just a place to chat, the formal party is being held over in the Burrow. I just went to take a look, and Molly’s group was all busy, so I used the excuse of chopping wood to come out for some fresh air.”

“Mum must have had everyone work their tails off.” Ron sighed understandingly.

“Don’t say that,” Mr. Weasley said with a hint of reproach, “Your mother was over the moon, she kept saying that it was Merlin’s blessing that no one in the family was hurt-”

“Then what am I?” Ron said indignantly, “I still have the scar from the Cruciatus Curse on my chest.”

“No, you don’t.” Harry subconsciously commented.

Everyone in the room laughed merrily and Harry snapped back, apologizing to Ron repeatedly, his mind was out of whack as he had just mentally managed to sort out and smooth some things over.

Tonks also smiled and said to Lupin, who was holding her arm, “I’m going to take a look over there and see what I can do to help … dear.”

Lupin smiled and nodded, his face looked troubled as he watched her disappear into the fireplace, Sirius came over and put a hand on his shoulder and exclaimed, “Don’t think too much! It’s a happy day, Harry and I are going to make a trip out in August, want to get together for a break? He also wrote a book …”

“You wrote a book?” Hagrid growled.

“You wrote a book?” Ron’s eyes widened.

Harry glared at Sirius, who had promised not to say a word! But Sirius had already tugged his best mate and headed upstairs, saying he wanted to have a good drink, and Harry nodded numbly amidst a crowd of interested gazes.

“About what?” Bill asked with interest.

“Patronus.” Harry said sullenly, in fact, it isn’t just about Patronus, it’s also about his thoughts on other topics such as the Disarming Charm, Illumination, Runic magic, Quidditch piloting, and his understanding of combat, he even included the knowledge he had gained from Voldemort’s mind; it was an idea that had sprung up in his mind a few days before the holiday, if death is waiting for him in the not too distant future, he should at least do something about it, and leave something behind.

It’s just that he was most sure of the Patronus Charm and had more confidence in voicing it out.

Harry was secretly relieved when he didn’t hear a snicker.

At that moment, Mr. Weasley spoke up with a grin, “I’ve heard that the examiners at the Examining Authority are having a hard time this year. Aside from Harry’s ground-breaking understanding of Patronus magic, which no one dares to verdict on. There are also quite a few students who have written up their unpublished runic spell knowledge, and have left many examiners scratch their heads.”

“Is there such a thing?” Harry asked, desperate to lead the conversation elsewhere without playing around the dangerous waters, though from the look he saw in Ron’s eyes, he knew he would inquire about it sooner or later – because Ron was the one who knew him best, even better than Sirius did.

“It’s not that hard to believe when you think about it, the Ancient Rune Studies are changing day by day, a lot of the research is done by students, and I’ve heard that over a half of the people that managed to pass the screening to publish and invited to the Hap’s Ancient Rune Magazine Almanac event in mid-August are all under twenty years old.”

Harry and Ron smacked their lips for a second.

“You guys have received an invitation?”

“Got it.” The duo said honestly.

“That’s it then.”

Mr. Weasley and Bill stayed for a while and left, after which Sirius dragged a somewhat flushed Remus along with him and left. Only Harry and Ron stayed behind, and waited and watched as time passed little by little; finally, there was a loud noise from the foyer of the old mansion, and then they heard Hermione’s voice.

She rushed in like a gust of wind.

“Harry! Ron! Oh, how was your holiday?” Hermione was beaming with joy and spoke in rapid succession, “I just got back two days ago, and now I’m interning at the Sword Castle, I almost lost track of time, it’s so fascinating in there, I never realized how much of what I discovered could come in handy … Oh yeah, what about your grades –”

Harry and Ron looked at each other and smiled.

“I knew you would ask this question for sure.”

“Let’s take them out one by one.”

Harry fished a crumpled envelope out of his pocket and unfolded it as Hermione and Ron leaned over to look at it from left and right.

Ordinary Wizard Level Exam Results

Passing grades: Outstanding (O); Exceeds Expectations (E); Acceptable (A).

Failing grades: Poor (P); Dreadful (D); Troll (T).

Harry James Potter has achieved the following grades:

Astronomy: A

Care of Magical Creatures: E

Charms: O

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O

Divination: P

Herbology: E

History of Magic: D

Potions: O

Transfiguration: O n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Study of Ancient Runes: O

…

“Gee, even though I’ve seen it, I still find it hard to believe, that’s five Outstanding.” Ron said as he shook his head.

“Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes…” Hermione thought for a moment and said, “You’re fully qualified to get a recommendation and join the Auror training squad.”

“In a word, Harry went above and beyond in all the subjects that had anything to do with practicals. So did I.” Ron furrowed his brow, “It’s going to make us look like we’re all brawn with no brain … I really want to break this stigma.”

Harry grinned, very pleased with his results.

“What about you, Ron?” Hermione asked.

“I’m pretty much identical to Harry, with the exception in Potions grade, in which I only got an A grade.” Ron shrugged, “Probably won’t be able to get into Snape’s Advanced Class, that’s fine though.”

“Oh, er,” Hermione said cautiously, “you can give it another shot this year … don’t just give up, even if it’s only for the sake of your Auror dream.”

But Ron’s face didn’t show any disappointment, on the contrary, he grinned with glee.

“Did you forget?” He said happily, “Both Harry and me are official members of the Dark Force Defence League, so they won’t refuse to write a recommendation letter or two … I have got the best of both worlds, I don’t have to attend Snape’s class and there are no repercussions!”

Hermione pursed her lips but didn’t raise any objections; they had discussed this topic specifically a long time ago and in the end, no one was able to convince the others.

“How about you, Hermione?”

“Oh, fine.” Hermione murmured.

“Oh come on! Just tell us which test you didn’t receive an Outstanding grade on.” Ron said and Hermione opened her mouth. “All Outstanding!?” Ron growled, “And you’re still not satisfied?” Hermione shook her head hurriedly, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

They tidied up, locked the door, and made their way through the fireplace to the Burrow. As soon as they stepped out, they were dragged away by Sirius and the Weasley twins, “Get over here and help, we are busy, we have to set up wards around the field. If we don’t finish it, we won’t get any food.”

“A defence ward?” Harry asked in disbelief, is that necessary?

“Muggle-Repelling Charm,” Fred said with a grin, “we’re going to make some big noise tonight, it’s just to prevent someone from the village who gets curious and comes over …”

They arrived at the orchard where Charlie, Bill, and Lupin were setting up the tent, and Fleur leaned against Bill cuddly, “Honey, whaddya think about doing the same for our wedding? Gotta add a small fountain though, and ice crystal statues …”

Ginny pulled a long face, and when she saw Harry and the others approaching, she sighed in relief and ran over to them and pretended to chant the spell with them.

The group split up separately and Fred and George seemed to spot a gnome hole where they crouched down and pinched their throats to greet, “Is anyone home? We dropped some fruit …”

Harry and Sirius moved together and Harry asked in a low voice, “What did you and Remus talk about?”

“Some annoying adult talk.” Sirius waved his wand lazily.

“Tell me about it.” Harry said.

“Ah, you know Kreacher, don’t you?”

Harry nodded.

“Thanks to the genius brain of our Mr. Hap, the exact location of Bellatrix was found with the help of Kreacher, but it wasn’t the end of the story, with the death of that cousin of mine, Kreacher lost his master once again …”

“Er, so, he’s free?” Harry guessed.

” Well you kind of got straight to the point, but the process wasn’t that easy,” Sirius said, “According to the legacy of the Black family, Kreacher automatically belongs to the next person who has the right to succession, which is Narcissa Black.”

Harry’s eyes went wide, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, “How is that going to work? Look what they did to Dobby!”

“Yeah, so Felix visited their house and that family very sensibly gave up the right to inherit, so … well, Kreacher ended up with Narcissa’s sister, which is Tonks’ mother.”

“Felix didn’t expect it either, but it’s a good thing they’re all acquaintances. Remus visited their house to explain the situation-”

“Something went wrong? They refused to let him go?”

“That’s not true, the family was quite friendly and asked Remus to stay for dinner.” Sirius said with a slight bitterness, “But Tonks was there that day, and they noticed the difference in their daughter’s attitude and when pressed, she couldn’t able to hide her relationship with him, and they had a ‘little’ fight.” His thumb and forefinger were almost close together, leaving only a slight gap.

Harry took a short breath, sidestepped to avoid Ginny’s glance, and mouthed the words.

“A werewolf?”

“Yeah,” Sirius whispered, “Actually, judging by the state Tonks is in, she has the confidence to convince her parents; the problem is Remus, he’s under a lot of pressure, in case you didn’t know, there is a chance that a werewolf’s child will also inherit the werewolf curse, just a chance, but Remus … he just couldn’t bear the thought of it.”

Harry was distracted throughout the rest of the day, glancing now and then at Remus, who smiled gently and joined the others in setting up the huge tent and conjuring up tables, chairs, and benches using Transfiguration. Even after Voldemort’s downfall, everyone had their own troubles.

Just like Harry himself, who was purposefully avoiding Ginny, not knowing how to respond to her feelings.

At eight o’clock in the evening, the banquet officially began.

Hundreds of wizards sat around the edge of the huge tents propped up on wooden stakes; people were constantly Apparating to get here, and Harry finally met Auntie Muriel, as Ron called her, she had a hawkish nose, red eyes, a pink feathered hat, and she looked grumpy.

As soon as she arrived she started to nitpick about the tables, chairs, and the decorations on them, “Look at this tablecloth, I don’t know how many years since it was properly washed, it stinks …”

“Actually that’s something Fred transformed from a skunk, there are not enough things in the house.” Ron said quietly to Harry, who quickly moved to the side, making up his mind not to take any food from that table.

Aunt Muriel noticed them.

“Harry Potter? Yes, I can see the scar, lucky boy, can your scar glow?” Harry furrowed his brow, unhappy with this comment. But then the old witch turned her attention to Ron, “Not as lucky as him though, I’ll tell you this, I was surprised when I heard the name of the youngest Weasley boy from one of my old sisters, and I realized just how much validity the rumours really have that time … The Dark Lord can’t even beat two little beans? ”

She ranted, and when she asked Ron in a cryptic manner how much the Order of Merlin had cost, both of them got a little fired up, and Hermione stopped them from quarrelling, only for Muriel to say that her “teeth were too bumpy and her hair was too messy.”

“Let me see your ankle bones, little girl.” Hermione puffed up and couldn’t keep up her anger, when the help finally arrived.

“Auntie Muriel? We’