Epilogue

Exams were over. Gryffindor took the Quidditch Cup—and the House Cup—by a landslide. After his conversation with Regulus, Harry told Sirius officially that yes, he was forgiven. The grin that split Sirius's face was so wide Harry was afraid his face would split apart. And then, as if Harry's forgiveness was the cue for the others, things more or less went back to normal between the Marauders-plus-Harry. Tonks was greatly disappointed.

"If you guys had kept being all awkward around each other for just one more day, we would have had an epic prank to enact. But no, Mary wanted to give you all a little longer before we intervened. And what do you know? She was right." Tonks scowled, but Harry could tell she was glad for them.

Even Lily expressed her surprise at their maturity. "I thought you were done for good," she admitted to Harry. "Then I heard what James said to Sirius, and I couldn't help but be impressed."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So they're 'James' and 'Sirius' now? Wait until I tell them!" He made to join them.

Lily grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare, Harrison!" Lily exclaimed, her cheeks coloring.

Harry pretended to pout. "And I'm back to 'Harrison'? You haven't called me that since first term. What did I do?"

Lily threw up her hands. "Ugh. You're all insufferable!" She huffed and walked away, but Harry caught traces of a smile on her face.

The day they boarded the train back to Kings Cross was bittersweet. On the one hand, a break from school was always something to celebrate. But Harry and Tonks realized all of a sudden that leaving Hogwarts meant they had no place to stay, and very little money between them.

"Maybe Tom will take us back?" Harry suggested hopefully as they dragged their trunks off the train at Kings Cross.

Tonks pursed her lips. "I wouldn't count on it. We have maybe enough for a week to stay as guests at the Leaky, but we'll have to find jobs right away."

Harry scowled. "Being an adult sucks."

Tonks laughed and ruffled his hair. "You get used to it."

Someone cleared their throat behind them. They both turned to see James shifting nervously from one foot to the other. "I…heard you talking. It sounds like you need a place to stay?"

They both nodded. Harry held his breath, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"I already asked Mum and Dad. They said you're welcome to stay with us—and Sirius, of course."

"We couldn't—" Harry began, but Tonks cut him off.

"We'd love to," she accepted.

James lit up (and so did Sirius behind him). "Awesome! Come on; they'll be thrilled. This will be the best summer ever!"

A/N: And that's a wrap! I'm sorry it took me so long to write what essentially amounts to four pages, but we're finally done! I know there's a lot left to this story, but sixth year is done! I hope you're satisfied with this temporary ending. I do have vague plans for a sequel, but it will be a while before I start posting it; I want to have a solid plan before I start writing, and right now I only have a few scenes planned out, with no overarching plot. I wouldn't plan on seeing anything new for this series until at least summertime. I'm more than open to suggestions, though! So please review, leave your thoughts, and in the meantime, I'm still updating Fortune's Wheel, so check that out!