Chapter Twenty-Nine

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Once More Into The Breach

The morning after Harry's birthday was never mentioned again. The group carried on as normal for the next few weeks. They were spending a lot of time together, especially Harry and Gallatea, as they knew they would soon be separated. Harry still went for lessons with Lolide, although by August 17th she had finished all she could teach him. She went on a trip to the elven world, bringing back some books for him to take with him to read. Harry was grateful for the extra time the lack of lessons gave him, as it meant he had more time to spend with Gallatea. He was still teaching her English, and had promised to leave her some of his books so she could continue to practice after he had left.

A week after Harry's birthday, the four time travellers were called to Lady Ravenclaw's office. They knew they couldn't be in trouble, as they hadn't done anything, but were still relieved when she smiled at them when they met her.

“ Come in you four, I would like to discuss something with you.”

Once the four were seated comfortably she continued.

“ I have been giving it some thought, and I would like you to take the NEWT exams.”

Instant pandemonium followed. Ron was protesting about not knowing anything, Hermione was claiming she didn't have time to revise, and Ginny couldn't see the point. Eventually, Rowena held her hand up to silence them.

“ I know you were not expecting this, but I believe you can pass them without any difficulties. You have all the knowledge of the founders; you should be able to pass seventh year exams. As for why, well, think about it. This will be the only opportunity for you to gain qualifications in ancient magic. When you go home, you will have written proof of your skills. I know when you go home you will have to do your fifth year again, as you have missed a year's worth of your magic, but you may as well do this while you still can.”

The four students mulled it over for a few minutes before reluctantly agreeing. Ron wasn't too happy about it, but Hermione soon talked him around. The next week was filled with exam after exam. They were only taking NEWTs in the regular subjects, but with the written exams and the practicals, it was very time consuming.

Two weeks before the start of the new term, Harry and Ron were called up to Gryffindor's office during breakfast. Looking at each other in confusion, they made their way out of the Great Hall. On the way, Ron turned to Harry to see if he knew what was going on.

“ Harry? Do you know what this is about?”

“ I haven't a clue, Ron. It can't be the OWL and NEWT results, because they don't come out for another week, and if it was, we wouldn't be the only ones called. It can't be pranks either, because we haven't pulled any in weeks.”

By this time the pair had reached the office. Knocking tentatively on the door, they went in when they heard Gryffindor's response from the other side. They were a little surprised to see the Minister for Magic sat in front of the founder's desk. Standing up, he went over to greet the new arrivals.

“ Ah, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, so nice to see you again.”

“ Hello Minister, what can we do for you?”

“ Well, Mr. Potter, I've just come to update you on the quidditch situation. I have opened your Gringotts account, as requested, and all funds will be placed therein. Here are your keys,” he said, handing them each a small golden key, “ and here are your personalised copies of the quidditch rule book. I took the liberty of collecting them from Flourish and Blott's for you, as I was coming here already.”

The two boys looked at the books they had been handed in awe. Ron took Fred and George's copy, and Harry took Gallatea's. They both thanked the Minister and left him to speak to Gryffindor.

The start of the following week was the scheduled Hogsmeade trip. The four time travellers wanted to stock up on all things Anglo-Saxon before they left, and so they made their way down to the small wizarding village, money bags bulging with money. Not that money would be a problem. With what they had on them they could probably buy the whole village ten times over. This thought gave Harry an idea…

The first place they headed for was the weaponry shop. Although the founders had ceased their training, saying there was no more they could learn, they would only have to practice to improve, it was time to buy their real weapons. They had each been instructed to buy their own bow and quiver, as well as a sword and some body armour. As Harry already had each of those from his first trip to the elves, he quietly slipped off while the others were absorbed in the sword section of the shop. Making his way down the street, he thought back on his earlier thoughts about being able to buy Hogsmeade. At the end of the village he found the business he was looking for, a magical construction company. Going inside, he walked up to a stuffy old wizard sitting behind a desk. He'd stood there for about five minutes without being acknowledged before he started to get frustrated.

“ Excuse me? I would like to make enquiries about the construction of a building. Can you help me at all?”

The man looked up at Harry in annoyance.

“ What sort of joke is this? What would a mere boy want with a building? And how would you intend to pay for it?”

“ I'm sorry if you think me too young, sir, but I really do wish to have a house built, and I do have the money with which to pay for it. Now, are you willing to help me or not?”

The man grudgingly waved Harry into a seat.

Twenty minutes later a smirking Harry met up with his friends in the weaponry shop. They had been that absorbed in their purchases that they hadn't even noticed he had left. Their next destination was the local bookshop. Harry immediately headed for the Dark Arts section, while Hermione favoured transfiguration. Ginny went to look at books about ancient forms of divination, while Ron just stood at the door, bored. Gallatea went to find a new book on potions, as it was one of her favourite subjects. After a while, Harry emerged from the Dark Arts section carrying a handful of shrunken books. Placing them on the counter, he asked the elderly witch who was serving if she could start ringing them up while he went to look for more. This time he headed for the other sections of the shop, getting a good collection from all branches of magic, with the exception of divination. When he finally finished choosing his books, the owner seemed to be a little concerned that a student was buying over 130 books. They had all been shrunk so as to make carrying them easier, but she knew they would cost a lot. When Harry went to pay, she tentatively asked for 1 galleon and 3 sickles which, much to her surprise, he handed over without question.

Once Hermione had bought a few books, though not as many as Harry, the group made their way over to Honeydukes. On their way over, Hermione came up to her friend to ask him about his purchases.

“ Harry, where do you intend to put all of those books? You can't keep them in your trunk. Even though they've been shrunk, they still take up a lot of space.”

“ Don't worry, `Mione, I'll put them in my room back at Hogwarts. You can leave yours there too, if you want. It'll save you carrying them around.”

“ I think I might do that. Thanks, Harry.”

In Honeydukes the five stocked up on sweets, although Gallatea didn't get nearly as many as the other four. They intended to take them with them to the future and try to replicate them, and give the recipes back to Honeydukes. Eventually, the sky began to darken and it was time for the group to make their way back up to the school.

August 30th brought with it much anxiety for the group. It was the day the OWL and NEWT results came out. Each subject was scored out of six grades, `O' being the highest. O, or Outstanding, was only attainable for the exceedingly clever or studious. Even though they knew they would get good marks from the shared knowledge, the four time travellers were still nervous. They wanted to have something good to show their families when they got home.

At breakfast, the five grew nervous when five school owls came flying through the roof, each with a letter attached to its leg. The students nervously took the parchment off their owl, and handed them some pieces of bacon. Opening them together, they all screamed for joy.

“ I got fifteen grade `O' OWLs!” Gallatea screamed hugging Harry tightly, “ What did you four get? I know you did NEWTs as well. Tell me them all.”

“ I got twenty grade `O' OWLs and fourteen grade `O' NEWTs,” Hermione stated proudly, a large grin spreading across her face.

The four turned to Harry, who hadn't said anything yet. When it became obvious he wasn't going to volunteer the information, Gallatea poked him in the ribs.

“ Come on, Harry, tell us. It can't be that bad.”

Harry remained silent for a few more minutes before sighing in defeat.

“ I got twenty five grade `O' OWLs and nineteen grade `O' NEWTs.”

Everyone started questioning him at once.

“ Twenty five OWLs?! Nineteen NEWTs?!”

“ How did you manage that?”

“ What are the extra ones for?”

“ You got more than me?”

This last statement brought everyone's attention to Hermione. She blushed profusely.

Everyone laughed at the embarrassed girl, before turning their attention back to Harry.

“ How did you manage that, mate? What were the others for?” Ron asked his best friend.

“ They were for elven magic. General magic, healing magic, culture, language and history.”

“ We should celebrate.”

“ But no Firewhiskey.”

The five students headed to Harry's room where they started a party to celebrate their success. It was also a sort of leaving party for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. After a while, the students were joined by the founders and Lolide, who had come to congratulate them on their success. Later that day, Hermione put on her CD player, and some of the group were dancing. When a slow song came on, Harry went to his girlfriend and offered his hand.

“ May I have this dance, milady?”

“ Of course, kind sir.”

Pulling her to her feet, he placed his arms around her and they started to sway to the music.

Every night in my dreams

I see you, I feel you,

That is how I know you go on

Far across the distance

And spaces between us

You have come to show you go on

Harry looked deep into Gallatea's eyes, thinking about how much he dreaded leaving her. He knew she couldn't go with him, but he didn't want to let her go.

Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

Glittering tears started to appear in Gallatea's eyes. She knew she had found her soul mate. She vowed to never marry once Harry had left. If she couldn't have him, she didn't want anybody else.

Love can touch us one time

And last for a lifetime

And never let go till we're one

Love was when I loved you

One true time I hold to

In my life we'll always go on

Harry looked deep into his girlfriend's soulful eyes. She's beautiful, he thought, I'll never find anyone else like her in a million years.

Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

Harry wrapped his arms around the weeping girl and pulled her into a tender kiss.

You're here, there's nothing I fear,

And I know that my heart will go on

We'll stay forever this way

You are safe in my heart

And my heart will go on and on

“ I love you,” he whispered to her.

“ I love you, too,” she whispered back.

The next day was the day they had all been dreading. September 1st. They spent the morning in Harry's room, making sure all of their books had preservation charms on them, and lining their awards up in the trophy cabinet. By the time lunch came around, everyone was getting depressed. Gallatea leaned over to Ginny halfway through the meal.

“ What time do you have to leave again?”

“ Sometime between 12:30 and 2:30 pm. We'll be going about 1:30 just to make sure.”

The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Finally, 1:30 rolled around and the group started to get ready. They had already brought their trunks into the Great Hall, and placed them on the floor in the middle. They went around doing last minute checks that they had everything. Hermione had spent an hour the night before trying to track down Crookshanks, so she had kept him in his carrying case to make sure he didn't disappear. Harry checked that Simbi and Nirah were securely around his wrist before going over to Gallatea and enveloping her in a big hug.

“ I'm going to miss you, `Tea.”

“ I'm going to miss you too, Harry. Take care of yourself, you hear.”

“ You too. I love you.

“ I love you, too.”

The pair shared one last kiss. Once all of the goodbyes were out of the way, the four sat on their trunks and Harry took out his amulet. Fawkes flew down from the ceiling and sat on Harry's shoulder, and all four grabbed the object in Harry's hand. Once all of them were ready, and were touching the amulet, Hermione muttered the spell.

“ Tempus Vehere.”

Just before the group disappeared in a blinding flash of light, Harry saw Gallatea move towards them, shouting something that would change his world forever.

“ Harry, I'm pregnant.”