18-Epilogue

It wasn't immediately noticed, but the demise of Voldemort, the death of several prominent Death-Eaters and the steep reduction in magical powers of most other Death-Eaters started a welcome shift of power in Magical Britain. The most prominent backers of the Pure-Blood supremacy were either dead or almost squibs, removing most of their influence.

A few weeks after Fudge's disappearance, a new minister was elected. Despite Dumbledore's efforts, it was neither Arthur Weasley nor Diggory, both of whom he thought he could easily influence. The new minister, although a politician, was an honest man and firmly on the light side. The first few who tried to bribe him found themselves in Hotel Azkaban quite quickly. That set the atmosphere right, assuring that lower-level officials would refrain from taking bribes. Nobody wanted to stay at Azkaban, not even for a short time.

Madam Bones and the DMLE, once allowed to do their jobs properly, were very effective in uncovering corruption and dealing with it.

By the time Harry and Hermione finished their second year at Hogwarts, the future looked much brighter than they could imagine when they started the first year. It wasn't perfect, of course. The old families still preached bigotry, but only behind closed doors. The social "Bon-Ton" was acceptance and openness.

A few Death-Eater families that hadn't been severely affected by the "plague" that killed or maimed quite of few of their comrades tried to organize a coup to turn society back to their way of thinking. It failed spectacularly, since they counted on the Ministry being still corrupt. All the perpetrators were captured, judged and either executed or sent to Azkaban with their possessions confiscated. Those who escaped prison were left too poor to have any influence.

.

Due to her husband's death, Narcissa also made some changes. She contacted Sirius as soon as the mourning period was over. "Please accept me back into the Black family. Since Lucius was found to be a Death-Eater, this is a breach of our marriage contract. You can legally cancel it and take my dowry back."

This left Draco with only what his father had left, which was much less than the arrogant boy expected. Narcissa Black took control of the Malfoy Manor, since it was originally a Black property, and gave it back to Lord Black, while she moved with her son to a smaller house. This also meant that she didn't need all the house-elves, so Sirius took Dobby to help the elderly Kreacher. The fact that Harry Potter lived with Sirius during school breaks was an important factor in Dobby's acceptance. He didn't know that Harry had asked specifically for Dobby.

\/\/\/

The third year was even pleasanter for the young couple. With Malfoy and his ilk having no influence any longer, not even in Slytherin, the school returned to what it should have been all along – a place of learning, not a place of politics and fighting. Professor McGonagall made sure that bullying of any kind was no longer tolerated, and Dumbledore seemed to have lost his interest in school affairs, letting her handle practically everything. "I think that the old man has never been really interested in the school, only in how he could use it to achieve his own goals," Harry told Hermione. She only nodded pensively.

\/\/\/

Dumbledore was contemplating his options and wasn't sure what to plan or even what to think. Since that "plague" that affected the marked Death-Eaters, things seemed to go in the right direction. With Harry no longer a Horcrux and Voldemort seemingly vanquished, there didn't seem to be any part of his old plans he could still adhere to. Even his drive to renew the Triwizard Tournament was fatally affected. With no Voldemort and with most of his supporters dead or near-squibs, he couldn't find a reason to reintroduce that dangerous tournament. He had also lost his main supporter for that in the ministry with the arrest of Barty Crouch Sr. There didn't seem to be any good reason to insist and there were very good reasons to let the deadly event be forgotten among other unimportant historical events.

\/\/\/

The summer vacation that followed the third year was fabulous. After spending two weeks on a Mediterranean beach, Sirius took them on a tour of some magical attractions in Italy and Greece. They came back just in time for the Quidditch World Cup, which passed quite peacefully, except for some drunkards whom the Aurors silenced and restrained until sober.

Yet the most important event from Harry's point of view happened the day before they went back to school. It was a somewhat rainy day, so they spent it in Sirius's home. On their way to the library, Harry stopped her and looked directly into her eyes. "Hermione, would you like to be my Girlfriend?"

She smiled. "It seems like I've been your girlfriend since the merge, if not earlier, but it's nice to make it official. Yes, Harry. I like it very much."

It was followed by a long and passionate kiss. Luckily, Sirius didn't see it, or he would have teased them mercilessly. The two teens were also too occupied to notice the glow that surrounded them while kissing. They wouldn't have thought of it even if they noticed, but somewhere inside the Ministry, some records changed with nobody paying them any attention.

.

Without Hermione's help, Ron failed his second year and had to repeat it (twice!) By the time Harry and Hermione, as Head Boy and Head Girl, finished their NEWTs, Ron was still struggling with his OWLs. Once he passed, just barely, he never tried for NEWTs. Luckily, his brothers could employ him for whatever only needed some muscle and no understanding or knowledge. He eventually died of an overdose of recreational potions even before reaching thirty. Very few ever noticed his demise.

.

Dumbledore retired after Harry's fourth year, not before the Prophet asked, "Why is Dumbledore still Hogwarts' Headmaster when he does nothing at all for it?"

He also resigned his political positions a few months later, having lost interest in them, once most of the dark-inclined players in politics were eliminated.

When he finally died, his funeral had very few attendants. It was only mentioned on an inner page of the Prophet.

A few years later, Rita Skeeter tried to make some money by publishing a scandalous book about Albus Dumbledore. It was a flop, since nobody was interested in the past headmaster any longer.

\/\/\/

Harry proposed before the sixth year, gaining himself a passionate snog on the spot and some more intimate fun later. When they went to the Ministry to start arrangements for their wedding, they were informed that they were already bonded.

That helped them decide on a Muggle wedding. "Since we're already magically bound, we don't need a magical wedding," Harry told her seriously, "but I always wanted to give you a nice wedding that we could reminisce on with our grandchildren. It would also allow your extended family to attend since it will use no magic."

This gained Harry another passionate snog and some more intimate fun later.

\/\/\/

Sirius continued to "play the field" for many years but never married. "Azkaban left its signs on me and I doubt I could father a normal child. I'd rather not try at all," he explained to Harry.

Remus, though, eventually overcame his reluctance and married Tonks ("never use my first name!"), who eventually brought him two sons and a daughter, all metamorphmagii. When Sirius eventually died, her eldest son became Lord Black, as Sirius willed, after Harry had explained to him that he wasn't interested in the additional title.

.

Ginny overcame her obsession for The-Boy-Who-Lived by her third year, after realising that Harry was only interested in Hermione and nobody else. Some talks with Luna also helped. Still, she followed Hermione's example as much as she could, becoming one of the top students in her class. She also joined the Quidditch team as a chaser and then, after Harry finished Hogwarts, as a seeker for her last year in school. She also followed her idols and became Head Girl. She then joined the Harpies, where she played for several years before settling down and bringing five children to her husband.

.

Neville married Hannah and eventually became the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, well-liked by his students and his peers.

Susan, despite intending to become an Auror, found herself pregnant just before her NEWTs. She married her boyfriend, a first-generation wizard, soon after, keeping her Bones surname. A few years later she was the proud mother of three more children and a rising star in politics.

Luna kept her friends throughout her studies and gained a few more. Still, her social awkwardness made her lose the position of Head Girl to Ginny, but she fully agreed that Ginny was much better suited for the position. After Hogwarts, she got a mastery at Magi-Zoology and then got Muggle masteries in Zoology and Biology, before starting her own expeditions, looking for exotic creatures. She found the Crumple-Horned-Snorkak in her first expedition. She also found her mate at that time.

Daphne went to a Muggle university after Hogwarts, along with Harry and Hermione. She stayed close to the Potter couple for the rest of her life. Some gossiping tongues considered her the Potter concubine, but nobody dared say anything to her or any of the Potters, not even after she birthed two children with emerald-green eyes: a boy who had unruly black hair and a girl who had her mother's blond hair and marble-like skin.

.

The Potters stayed together for the next century and a half. They went into politics, where Hermione served as the first Muggle-born female Minister for Magic for the maximum time allowed and Harry was Chief Warlock, both dragging the Magical British world into the twenty-first century, making the Wizengamot an elected body with a "House of Lords" at its side.

When they finally retired from politics, leaving the field to their children, they chose to teach at Hogwarts for a few decades. Harry became the best DADA teacher the school had known for many generations. Hermione took over Transfiguration and made it a fun subject while still keeping strict discipline. She then became Headmistress for a few years before resuming teaching when Harry took that job.

Eventually, they had enough of Hogwarts and retired to their hidden island resort, where they spent the rest of their lives leisurely, finally dying in a tight embrace, leaving their five children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren with a magnificent heritage to follow.

The End