[FFML] [challenge/short][Harry Potter] Harry Potter Epilogue Challenge

[The Eternal Lost Lurker]

So. This Saturday, it all finally comes to an end.

But before we get the official, canon finale to the series, there's still
time for a little fun.

To that end, I present:

THE HARRY POTTER EPILOGUE CHALLENGE.

Simple and straightforward:

Write a brief epilogue to the Harry Potter series. You can take any tone you
wish with it, just keep it under ten pages. One to two pages is sufficient.

The only rule: It MUST be posted before noon Eastern US time on Friday.

Oh, and all entries must be marked "Harry Potter Epilogue Challenge
Submission" -- since this is intended to be a fan take on a finale to the
series, there's no point in issuing them proper titles.

Right then, I'll start things off:

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Carefully arranging his robes, Harry knelt before the tomb of Albus
Dumbledore. He bowed his head momentarily in prayer, then straightened up.
His cheeks were moist with tears; he briefly removed his glasses and wiped
his eyes on his sleeve before facing the resting place of his mentor.

"It's finally finished, Professor," he said thickly. "He's gone, at last."
He chuckled wetly. "'Neither can live while the other survives'...I
understand now. I haven't been properly living these last few years, not
really. But now..." He paused, looking up at the sky, just beginning to
tinge pink with the hues of sunset. "Now, I think I can get on with my
life."

Withdrawing a small brass bowl from his robes, he placed it before him on
the ground, then withdrew a long, thick wand from his pocket. "Thirteen and
one-half inches, yew, containing a single phoenix tail feather. Fawkes'
feather, just like my wand." Turning the wand between his fingertips for a
moment, he gripped it at both ends, and snapped it. The broken halves of the
wand emitted a brief shower of soot-black and poisonous green sparks.
Further snapping the remnants of Voldemort's wand into small pieces, Harry
removed a frayed, worn feather from among the yew splinters. This feather,
once a brilliant gold, had faded over time, now a dull bronze colour
speckled with deeper spots of rust. Grimly, Harry arranged the wand
fragments and the ancient phoenix feather in the brass bowl. With a tap of
his own wand, the remnants of Voldemort's wand burst into flame. He watched,
silently, as the wand burnt to ash and embers. The sun was a brilliant
orange-red fireball on the horizon by the time it was done.

"It's over now, Professor," Harry repeated, voice thick with emotion. "You,
my Mum and Dad, Sirius, Cedric...everyone he ever killed can rest in peace."

The ashes of Voldemort's wand shifted suddenly. Harry glanced down at them,
tensing; a tiny bronze beak poked out of the soot and embers, followed by a
wrinkled, dark pink body with tiny, leathery wings and scaly, taloned feet.
The baby bird shook itself, then turned one beady black eye up to look at
Harry and emitted a low, warbling chirp.

Harry stared blankly at the bird for a long moment. His mouth stretched into
a broad, beaming smile; he extended his hand. It tilted its head curiously,
then hopped up to perch on his finger. He gently stroked the bird's back; it
trilled a high, melodious note.

"Hullo, Albus," Harry said.

As the sun sank out of sight, and a warm breeze wafted over the tomb, Harry
Potter laughed, a light, airy laugh full of genuine mirth for the first time
in quite a long while.

(Disclaimers: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic,
and AOL Time Warner.)

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This is a test of the Emergency Ass Dance System.
              ~~*~~
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com