After The War

The Clearing

After crying my eyes dry, I stood up. I took the wand that Malfoy had given me, and flicked it at a tree stump. It was now a shovel. Just like with Dobby, I refused to use magic to bury Luna. It took longer to dig this grave than it did for Dobby's. Luna was about 3 feet taller than him.

After what seemed like an eternity, the hole was big enough. I looked at the watch Mrs. Weasley gave me for my seventeenth birthday. It was 3:29 in the morning. I had no clue what time I had arrived, so there was no telling how many hours I had been digging. I knelt next to Luna's body, and used some powerful magic to reseal the two halves of her body. A part of me – though a foolish part – halfway expected the sealing to bring her back. As if she would sit up, and congratulate me for getting rid of enough nargles to think straight. (Don't ask what nargles are. It's a Luna thing. You wouldn't understand.) But I had seen enough death to know that even the Resurrection stone (which I no longer even had) couldn't bring the dead back to life. I then flicked the wand again, and a British flag appeared. I wrapped her now-whole body in it to be buried. It was a muggle tradition for fallen soldiers. Then I picked her up, and hopped down into her grave. I gently laid her down, and let out a sob. I figured this would be a good time for my final goodbye.

"Farewell, Luna. Thank you so much for what you did for me. You are a true student of Hogwarts. You showed all the qualities of the school. You have more courage than any Gryffindor. More loyalty than any Hufflepuff. More intelligence than any Ravenclaw. And definitely more ambition than any Slytherin. I am so proud to have called you my friend. May you forever rest in peace, and be with your beloved mother once more. Goodbye, Luna. I will never, ever forget you."

I hopped out of the grave, and picked up the shovel with my sore hands. Then, with a sigh, I dropped it and picked up the wand. With a flick, the dirt rose up gracefully, and buried Luna forever. I looked at the wand in amazement. It was Malfoy's wand, but it worked so well for me without me having defeated its last master. Ollivander always said "The wand chooses the wizard." I wondered if maybe it's allegiance changed not because I won it, but because it was willingly given. I smiled to myself. But the question remained: why would – of all people – Draco Malfoy willingly give me his wand to fight Voldemort? It was just not Malfoy. Standing up, I took in my surroundings. Luna had brought me to a clearing – almost in a perfect circle – in a forest. I had no clue what to do or where to go. Where the ruddy hell was Hermione when you needed her? Then a terrifying thought gripped me. Hermione and Ron – I hadn't killed Voldemort. I hoped with every ounce of my being that Hermione had thought to get them out of there. At least she had taught me one thing while we were hunting horcruxes – how to put up protective enchantments.

I started walking the perimeter of the clearing, muttering incantations.

"Salvio Hexia...Protego Totalum...Repello Muggletum...Muffliato....Salvio Hexia...Protego Totalum...Repello Muggletum...Muffliato...."

Once I reached the point from which I'd started, I gave the wand one more wave. "Cave Inimicum!"

Once the protective enchantments were complete, I had to figure out how to sleep. A tent was a bit to big for me to conjure, so I had to do with just a sleeping bag. With a sleepy, lazy flick of my wand, a thick, comfy sleeping bag appeared at my feet. Exhausted from the day's events, I slipped into the sleeping bag, and was out like a light.

In my dream, I was in the woods. I was stumbling... looking for someone. It wasn't clear who. In my hand was a silky green handkerchief. There it was, up ahead. A shimmering, glittery light. I stepped up to it, and saw...me. Sleeping in the bag, but tossing and turning. Frantic, I waved the cloth over the light that was obviously my protective enchantments. They vanished, and I ran over to me.

"Potter," I whispered to myself, as I tossed and turned. But it was strange. It wasn't my voice. It sounded familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. "Potter, you're okay. Wake up." I put a gentle hand on my shoulder....

Now I was awake. My eyes flew open, and I gasped in shock. Standing over me, looking terrified and worried, was Draco Malfoy.