Summer of Independence
Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me and I am not making any $$$ off of it. This world belongs to the talented JKR, I am just playing with it.
Chapter 18: Wrapping Up
Harry, Neville and Hermione helped Dudley get everything into his trunk. The four friends spent the rest of their summer vacation just relaxing and having fun. They went to a movie one night but the rest of the time just stayed inside and talked about everything that had changed that summer.
Hermione had to leave for a few days, accompanied by Moody, to visit the Temple. She was quickly learning about her new faith and responsibilities. She was also able to spend some time with her mum who had filed for divorce already and was living in a nice flat Hermione was paying for.
Dudley was sad he would have to go back to school but determined to learn as much as possible while he was away in the muggle world. He couldn't believe what a great summer it had been. He went from despising his cousin to him being his best friend. He just wished his parents had been as cool as Remus describes his Aunt Lily and Uncle James to have been. If his parents had welcomed Harry into their home he could have grown up with a brother in Harry and could have perhaps found out about the wizarding world much earlier.
Neville was having the best summer of his life. He had friends that really cared about him and he didn't feel stupid or left out. He was looking forward to their next year at Hogwarts. It would prove to be interesting and he was planning on helping Harry in any way he could.
Harry thought it was an interesting summer. He was finally free of the manipulation of Dumbledore. He had effectively taken him out as the leader of the war. He had enough evidence to get him kicked out of Hogwarts and into Azkaban if he chose to use it. He would see how the school year went but he would no longer be his pawn. He wondered what the year would hold… who the DADA teacher would be… and just what adventures awaited him and his friends once they boarded the Hogwarts Express.
The End
Note: I have not decided if I will write a sequel or not. I left it wide open for one and even have some vague ideas. I have been having difficulty getting motivated to write lately. This story was originally going to cover the school year as well but I figured you would all like to read it before the 7th book came out!
I hope you all enjoyed it and this will most likely not be my last story. Maybe the 7th book will give me the inspiration to write something else.
Everyone have a great summer!
Redfrog