Chapter Twenty Three: Back to Normal
“May I have you attention please?” Headmaster Shacklebolt said loudly at the front of the Great Hall.
The noise died down quickly, as the students anxiously awaited the explanation that had been promised to them. A week before they had been told that the murderer had been caught, and Thomas Nott had been returned to school, still slightly dazed from his time under the Imperius, but boiling mad over being made a public scapegoat for the crimes committed at the school. Worse, even his fellow Slytherins had believed it. Still, details of the battle were in great demand, and rumors were flying. Everyone knew that the Potters had been involved, and Sirius was still missing. Most people thought that Voldemort had come back and Harry had had to kill him all over again. At least half of the school thought Sirius was dead, though there were several more different ideas as to where he was. The Slytherins, most likely led by Nott, were convinced that Sirius had been working with the Death Eaters and was even now in Azkaban. Now, everyone had been promised they would learn the true details.
“This has been a very sad year,” Shacklebolt began slowly. “We’ve seen injury and death here at Hogwarts, and suspicion and distrust has been the result. I am proud to tell you that the true culprits were found and have been brought to justice. This much you know already. What you don’t know, is that all of this was done by a student here at Hogwarts, who very nearly died at the hands of Draco Malfoy, the true perpetrator of the crimes this year. We’d like to welcome Sirius Potter back to school now, for the first time since his defeat of the Dark Wizard.”
The Headmaster waved his wand and the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing a very sheepish Sirius Potter, who appeared once again to be his proper age.
The Gryffindors were instantly on their feet cheering wildly, Samantha, his siblings, and the Weasley quadruplets foremost among them. Sirius was most surprised, however, to see that the students at the other tables were almost as enthusiastic as his own house. Even the Slytherins, with the notable exception of Thomas Nott, had risen respectfully to their feet and were offering polite applause.
Sirius took his place at the Gryffindor table next to Samantha, who grabbed his hand and squeezed like she would never let go. Sirius grinned at her and received a radiant smile in return, and he suddenly felt as though things were finally as they should be.
“We also must mourn the loss of yet another student who gave his life to save Sirius,” the Headmaster continued after the applause had died down. “Frank Longbottom was known by many of you to be one of the most dedicated students at Hogwarts, whose talent and charisma led him to become a leader in his own house and throughout the school. I’m told that the Minister for Magic is considering awarding Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom the Order of Merlin for their heroic deeds, and I wish to honor both for their efforts for this school.”
The students all observed a moment of silence for Frank; even the Potters, who had been betrayed by the brainwashed Hufflepuff, realized that without his help Sirius would never have triumphed over Malfoy. Frank’s final act in overcoming his captors was inspiring, even if most of the Wizarding World would never know the full story.
Afterwards, during the feast, Samantha turned to him with shining eyes and whispered, “I thought you were lost to me forever. What happened?”
“Well,” Sirius began carefully, since he was not allowed to say much about the Department of Mysteries, “my parents got permission from the Minister to use something in the Department of Mysteries that was able to move me forward in time to put me back to the way I was before.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all,” Lee said with a laugh before Samantha could say anything.
“Move forward to put you back?” Jack repeated, “Sounds like your brain’s still a bit muddled.”
“It’s probably the Order of Merlin thing,” Brian said sagely. “It’s gone straight to his head. Besides, he never would have made it without us; where’s our recognition?”
“Recognition?” Christ laughed, “we’ll be lucky if the Ministry doesn’t try to prosecute us for using magic off of the school grounds.”
Sirius, whose face was slightly red with embarrassment at this point, interrupted.
“You’re all getting commendations from the Ministry,” Sirius said with a sly smile. “There’s going to be a big formal ceremony with lots of reporters and speeches and everything.”
The quadruplets all looked at him with horrified expressions, none of them able to respond to this latest news.
“I insisted you get credit for your actions, of course,” Sirius continued. “They wanted it to be just for me, but I convinced them that there were more heroes than just me.”
“You’ll pay for this one, Potter,” Jack grumbled while his brothers moaned. All of them hated anything to do with the word ‘formal.’
“How did you survive in the first place?” Samantha asked, still clutching Sirius’ hand.
“Well, before I was reborn, I had been able to transform myself into a phoenix,” Sirius explained. “Dumbledore’s portrait thought it had something to do with the way a phoenix brought my dad back to life after he defeated Vodlemort. I guess I was reborn just like a phoenix, but then the power was gone.”
Sirius looked somewhat mournful at this last statement, and his cousins were aghast.
“No more transporting anywhere at Hogwarts?” Chris asked in despair.
“No more invisibility?” Lee asked in the same tone.
“Well, it couldn’t last forever, I guess,” Sirius said with a sigh.
“I’m glad it lasted for as long as it did,” Samantha said happily. “Since that’s how you’re alive now.”
“I’m not sure it was worth it…” Brian started, but a sharp glare from Samantha shut him up quickly, much to everyone’s amusement.
***
Later that evening, in his room with the quadruplets, they were discussing their newest plans for pulling pranks on the Slytherins. Since the crisis was over, all of them were in complete agreement that the school needed cheering up, and the Weasleys were all secretly thinking that if they got in enough trouble they might cancel the award ceremony.
“I don’t see how we’ll get into the Slytherin common room,” Lee said dejectedly as their plans hit a snag.
“I could always transport us in,” Sirius offered casually, acting as if that was nothing unusual.
“But you said that…” Chris began with wide eyes.
“As far as the adults know,” Sirius stated, “My ability to transform into a phoenix was lost when I was reborn.”
The quadruplets’ eyes all lit up with hope.
“Now they won’t assume that I’m guilty when pranks are taking place in impossible locations,” Sirius finished, a mischievous grin forming as he spoke.
I did my part, Sirius thought to himself as they gathered the necessary materials for their planned activities. I think I can have some fun with my powers now without feeling too guilty about it.
With that final thought, Sirius and his cousins vanished in a burst of flames.
A/N: Alright, that's the end of my story! I'm very grateful to everyone who has reviewed so far, and I hope everyone will let me know what they think of the finished product. I also want to thank my wife for her support and proofreading. I am starting my own novel now, which I hope to publish. I promise to let everyone know if that happens or not, but don't expect it to be too soon. Also, I don't think I'm done with fanfiction, so check back every now and again! Thank you all, and I promise I will keep answering all of the reviews!