Harry rubbed the back of his head where Hermione had slapped him as he walked to the door that had his name on it. When he reached the door he slowly turned the doorknob and entered the room. On the left wall of the room was a very large four post bed that Harry could swear was calling his name. The sheets were gold while the comforter and pillows were red. The curtains that hung around the bed were red with gold trim. Next to the bed was a door that lead to a large lavatory complete with a shower and a large bath that reminded Harry of the Prefect's bath. There was another large window that looked out onto the Quidditch Pitch. The right hand wall was where a large wardrobe stood and a large mahogany writing desk with a high back leather chair.

Harry walked closer to the desk and saw that there was a framed picture standing on the desk. Upon closer inspection Harry could see that it was the same picture of the Order of Phoenix from the first war. When Harry picked up the frame the occupants of the picture began clapping at Harry, a few raised their arms in celebration. Harry could see his father wrap his arms around his mother and pull her head close to him. Harry looked even closer and could see that his mother had a large smile on her face, she also had tears streaming down her face at the same time.

"It's because of you Mum, Dad." Harry spoke to the picture. "The war was won because of your sacrifice. I love you both so much, I miss you." Harry slowly set the picture back down on the desk and turned to go take a shower before the feast.

Harry exited his bathroom a long half hour later and saw that a house elf had apparently set out the robes he was to wear for the feast. The robes were solid black except for the gold trim and Gryffindor logo, when Harry picked the robes up he found that they were made of silk. Harry put the robes on and saw that there was also his Order of Merlin sash lying out for him. Without looking at it he slid the sash over his head and made sure it was neatly in place. He then found a large black silk pointed hat that he put neatly on his head. The last thing he saw on the bed was an envelope.

Mr. Harry Potter

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Mr. Harry Potter's room, Fifth Floor behind the Marauder's Moon.

Harry opened the envelope and recognized the slanted writing immediately.

Dear Harry,

Congratulations on your defeat of Tom Riddle. The entire world owes you more than it can ever repay you. I am so very, very proud of you. I am truly honored to call you my pupil and even more so to call you my friend. I know you do not like large amounts of attention that is why I have given you your new sash now instead of in front of a large group of people. I am sure tonights feast will be difficult enough for you without the added attention. Yourself, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger and Ms. Weasley will be joining the staff at the head table tonight. Once again, congratulations and a very heart felt thank you, Harry.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Harry put the letter back in the envelope and set it back on the bed. He then gave his sash a closer look. His mouth fell to the floor when he read the words.

Harry James Potter

Order of Merlin, 1st Class

Wizengamot Council Member

Harry's knees began to tremble and he quickly sat on the bed to keep from falling over. After a minute Harry felt he would be okay to stand and walk again. He walked back out into the common room to find his three friends all standing at their doors staring at each other. Each one of them had the same robes on, the all also had golden sashes around their necks.

"Harry, did you know about this?" Ginny asked.

"No love, I didn't." Harry replied honestly, "It was a surprise to me as well."

"So you got a new rank then, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Erm, yeah I did. Order of Merlin, 1st class. I am also a member of the Wizengamot now." Harry answered his ears burning.

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed, "We are all 3rd class, and we are all members of the Wizengamot too."

"Well, I suppose we had better head to the feast now. We don't want to be too late." Harry said not knowing what else to say.

The group of friends made their way down the Grand Staircase and stood inside the entrance hall just outside of the large oak doors leading to the Great Hall. Harry could tell that everyone was in the Great Hall already as it was louder than he ever heard it before. When they got to the doors Harry stopped and took his friends into a large group hug.

"Thank you. I could never have done this without you." Harry spoke while choking back a tear. When he broke the hug the all stood side by side. Ginny was on the far right with Harry next to her, Ron stood to Harry's left and Hermione on the far left. "Ready?"

They all nodded to Harry who raised his hand and pushed the doors open with his wandless magic. The noise from inside immediately ended, nothing could be heard in the deafening quiet. The four friends entered the Great Hall side by side. Harry could see that the four ordinary house tables were gone, instead there were four tables all under the Hogwarts flag. Hufflepuffs sat with Ravenclaws, Ravenclaws with Gryffindors and amazingly enough, Gryffindors and Slytherins were sitting with each other.

All at once the Great Hall erupted into booming applause. No one was sitting any longer, they all rose to their feet as the four Marauders walked down the aisle toward the head table. When they reached the end of the students tables they saw that there were two tables sitting cross ways in the Great Hall, one of them at the end of the two rows of student tables on the left and the other on the right. These two tables were full of familiar faces from the Ministry and more importantly to Harry most of the people sitting here were from the Order of Phoenix. Harry could see that Remus was in a group with Mad-Eye Moody, Mrs. Weasley, all of the Weasley boys were there.

The four friends stopped here and bowed or curtsied to the members of the Order then continued their walk to the head table. Harry finally saw that there were four large chairs in the center of the head table that were empty. To the left of these chairs sat Headmaster Dumbledore with Professor McGonagall to his left. To her left sat an empty chair that was meant for Professor Snape. To the right of the four empty chairs sat Minister of Magic Weasley and to his right sat Hagrid. The rest of the Hogwarts staff filled in the rest of the head table.

The group stepped onto the raised platform and walked along the back of the head table. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all stopped at the chairs that had been designated for them. Harry continued past his, then past Headmaster Dumbledore and past Professor McGonagall and stopped behind Professor Snape's empty chair. Harry pulled out his wand and tapped the top of the chair. Black cloths seemed to fall out of the sky and drape themselves over Severus Snape's chair. Harry touched the back of the chair as to say a final goodbye and turned to see the Headmaster smiling at him. Not knowing what else to do Harry smiled back and gave his Headmaster a very tearful hug.

After breaking the hug with Headmaster Dumbledore, Harry took his place in front of his chair and pulled his wand out one more time. He waved his wand through the air and every other Hogwarts banner was replaced with a solid black banner. Harry put his wand back into his robes and motioned for silence.

"Welcome, and thank you all for coming." Harry spoke to everyone in the Great Hall once they took their seats. Harry remembered back to his first feast in this hall. "I would like to say a few words before we begin. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

Harry down and gave Headmaster Dumbledore a wink as the plates in front of them began to fill with food. Harry hadn't realized how hungry he was until he started piling food onto his plate. Three helpings later he pushed his plate away and sat back in his chair. Ten minutes later when Ron had finished his second helping of dessert Headmaster Dumbledore stood up to speak.

"We are all gathered here tonight to celebrate the defeat of Tom Riddle by Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ginerva Weasley." Dumbledore paused as applause burst from the Great Hall once again. Once it died down he continued. "Their heroic deeds have brought peace to the wizarding world at last. This is not to say there isn't more we have to do, there are still Riddle's Death Eaters to find and capture, and there will always be evil in the world. But, what was thought impossible has been done, Voldemort is defeated. As Harry so poignantly pointed out to us earlier, we must also take time to remember those we have lost these many, many years and do what we can to never forget them. Once again congratulations and thanks to our four heroes. Now, we do have lessons in the morning so I think we should all turn in and get a good nights rest."

The Great Hall quickly emptied as tired students rushed to their dorms to fall asleep, their bellies fuller than they could have imagined. The Ministry officials that were there said a quick thank you before they too left with full bellies. Soon just the members of the Order of Phoenix were remaining in the Great Hall.

Headmaster Dumbledore had vanished all the tables in the Great Hall and conjured one single round table for the Order to sit at. The rest of the night was spent laughing and talking about nothing in particular. For the first time ever Harry could see that all of his friends could laugh without the worry that life might end in the next day in the back of their minds. It was most noticeable in Remus, who looked like he had gained ten years to his life. Mrs. Weasley also seemed much more relaxed than ever before. When conversations seemed to be coming to an end Headmaster Dumbledore spoke up so that everyone could hear him.

"Thank you all for staying to this late hour. First and I would like to congratulate Harry on achieving his Order of Merlin, 1st class. I would also like to congratulate Ron, Hermione and Ginny on achieving 3rd class Order of Merlin, and of course all of them for their appointment to the Wizengamot Council." When Headmaster Dumbledore had finished his sentence Mrs. Weasley let out a small shriek.

"I had no idea!" Molly exclaimed, "Arthur, when were you going to tell me? I thought that they simply wore those sashes so that they were distinguished! Order of Merlin and Wizengamot! Well this calls for a celebration!"

"Molly dear," Arthur began. "Albus asked me not to tell anyone until tonight, and this was the celebration."

"Yes, yes." Albus laughed happily. "Now, Harry, you have only ended up missing about two months of lessons this term. I am more than confident in your abilities to sit the rest of this terms lessons and then sit your final N.E.W.T. exams. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny only missed a week of lessons and will also be able to sit their lessons and exams. More importantly, Harry, what I really wish to speak to you about are your plans after Hogwarts."

"To be honest, sir." Harry replied. "Other than wishing to become an Auror and marry Ginny, I hadn't thought about it much. I was never sure if I would make it that far."

"I see," Albus replied with an understanding nod. "Well then, I would like to take this moment to give you another option for life after Hogwarts."

"Another option, sir?" Harry asked not understanding.

"Yes, Harry. Why does there have to be a life after Hogwarts? Why not remain at Hogwarts as a Professor? I have a post open for Defense Against the Dark Arts. And I have already talked to Ms. Granger about taking up the post of Potions Mistress."

"Wow," Harry said the shock very evident in his voice. "Thank you, sir, but for now I need to decline the offer. There are still Death Eaters out there and I can't allow myself to rest until they are captured. I think for now I should train to become an Auror. After the Death Eaters are caught if the position comes available again I would like very much to teach at Hogwarts.'

"Very well, Harry. I can't say I am not disappointed to not have you as a Professor yet but I am glad you chose what you did." Professor Dumbledore replied to Harry's response. "Now, it is late and you all have lessons tomorrow. I shall wish you a good night and many pleasant dreams."

The first week Harry had wished he didn't need to sit for his lessons as he was once again the center of everyone's attention. After that first week things began to return to normal or as normal as it could be at Hogwarts. The coming months saw the Quidditch Cup race come down to the Gryffindor and Slytherin match. Harry was proud of how well his team played against Ravenclaw during his absence and ever prouder that they only needed to beat Slytherin by fifty points to win the Quidditch Cup.

"Ok, everyone." Harry began his final pep talk as Captain of the Gryffindor team. "This is the last match of the year and it is for Cup! I would love nothing more than to end my career at Hogwarts as champion! Now lets go kick some Slytherin arse!"

The Gryffindor team erupted out of the locker room to loud cheers from almost the entire school. Harry noticed as he flew over to the Slytherin Captain that the whole Slytherin team seemed to be shaking in their Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon hide boots. Harry smiled to himself after seeing this, he knew it would be an easy win. Harry circled the pitch once before the start of the game when he saw someone he had never seen before sitting next to Headmaster Dumbledore. A short man wearing orange sat next to Headmaster Dumbledore, the two men talked and laughed. Harry flew closer and could see that the man was from the Chudley Cannons and was pointing in the direction of Ron. Harry got an idea and flew beside Ginny.

"Ginny," Harry said quietly when he was next to her.

"Yeah, Harry?" She replied smiling.

"There is a scout from the Cannons here, and he is looking at Ron." Harry told her.

"Really? Where? Does Ron know?"

"No, and we need to keep it that way. I want you and to pass the word to everyone to play a good game but let Slytherin get some shots on goal so Ron can make his saves."

Ginny nodded as she the went around and spread the word to the rest of the team. Once both teams were ready Madam Hooch blew her whistle and released the Quaffle. Harry spent the next fifteen minutes watching his team score six times but also letting Slytherin take plenty of shots at Ron. Ron hadn't missed a save yet and Harry could see the scout had a large smile on his face.

One of Slytherin's Chasers had "stolen" the Quaffle from Ginny and was on a break away with another of his Chasers. Harry could see the steely determination in Ron's face as the two Chasers came closer passing the Quaffle back and forth. Ron stayed right in front of the center ring like he was supposed to waiting for the Chasers to make a move. Finally it happened, the lead Chaser passed the Quaffle to the rear Chaser on the right. The lead Chaser shot to the left goal but Ron held his ground in the center, the second Chaser faked a shot to the right goal and passed the Quaffle back to the lead Chaser. Ron had moved ever so slightly towards the ring that the second Chaser had faked to Harry thought Ron would miss the save.

The lead Chaser made a quick shot on the left ring. Ron most have known that this was going to happen because as soon as the Quaffle left the Chasers hand Ron made an amazing back flip on his broom that took him right into the path of the Quaffle and made one of the most amazing saves Harry had ever seen. Harry looked over to the scout and saw him jumping up and down clapping at the save Ron just made. At that time the Snitch zipped right in front of Harry who out of instinct reached out with his right hand and caught the Golden Snitch. The crowd erupted in cheers as Gryffindor won the match 300 to nothing and more importantly the Quidditch Cup was theirs again.

The celebration in the locker room lasted for at least an hour. Everyone on the team wanted to know two things, one, how Ron made the save and two, how did Harry catch the Snitch like that. Harry shrugged and said "I don't know." every time he was asked.

"I could just tell what those Slytherins were going to do. It was so obvious that they were going to try to fake me to one side and shoot for the other. So I let them think I fell for it, when they committed to that action I made my move." Ron told them all the story.

Finally, Harry broke up the small celebration because he knew that the scout had to be waiting for Ron outside. Harry led his team out of the locker room to find that most of the school was still on the pitch cheering for the Gryffindors. Harry saw the scout standing just outside the entrance to the hallway for the locker room.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. My name is Geoff Langford, I am a scout with the Chudley Cannons. Headmaster Dumbledore tells me you wish to become an Auror?" Mr. Langford asked.

"Yes, sir." Harry replied.

"Too bad, we could use a great Seeker like you." Mr. Langford responded. "Its a shame though, not being able to get the duo of Potter-Weasley, we would be unstoppable next year. We would go all the way to the World Cup."

"Excuse me?" Ron spoke up. "Did you say the Potter-Weasley duo?"

"Yes I did, Mr. Weasley." Geoff answered. "The Cannons sent me here to watch you play, Ron. Told me if I liked what I saw to offer you a contract on the spot. So, how about it Mr. Weasley? I am authorized to offer you a three year contract starting at the rookie salary of one-thousand galleons a match with a fifty galleon bonus for every save on goal and a one hundred galleon bonus for a win."

"Yes!" Ron shouted as soon as Mr. Langford finished. "Would you mind if I had Headmaster Dumbledore go over the contract before I sign though?"

"I already have, Ron." Professor Dumbledore spoke with a large smile. "Everything is in good order, after the first season your salary jumps to fifteen-hundred galleons a match, bonus also double. After the third season you will be able to negotiate a new contract."

"Where do I sign?" Ron asked as Mr. Langford handed him the contract and a quill. Ron quickly signed his name where indicated and handed the quill back to Mr. Langford. Headmaster Dumbledore made a copy of the contract and handed it back to Ron. Who was then immediately hugged by Hermione.

The party in Gryffindor tower lasted until four in the morning when Professor McGonagall came into the common room for the tenth time and informed them that even Peeves was complaining about the noise level.

The end of term came much quicker after that. Harry, Ron and Hermione all studied for their N.E.W.T.'s, Ginny studied for he end of year exams. Before they knew it they were taking their exams and the worry that they didn't do nearly good enough for their wanted jobs began to eat at all of them but Ron.

"Don't worry you two, you two are the best of our year, you passed your N.E.W.T.'s." Ron spoke confidently. "Harry, you will go on to train as an Auror, Hermione you are going to be the Potions Professor, even if you didn't pass your exams, Headmaster Dumbledore will still take you on staff. Let's all just relax and enjoy the las few days we have at Hogwarts."

"Easy for you to say, Ron." Hermione said with her head resting on his chest. "You have a job that doesn't depend on your N.E.W.T.'s, you can just relax."

Harry, who had been looking out at the lake watching the giant squid swim lazily through the water, looked over to his two closest friends and then to Ginny who had laid her head down in his lap.

"You know, Ron's right." He said with a smile. "We don't need to worry at all. No matter what happens from here on out it is going to happen with out Tom Riddle out there. And that is all that we need to know. Most of his Death Eaters have already been captured or killed. Minister Weasley isn't even falling for the Imperius Curse excuse. If you have a Dark Mark on your arm, you go to Azkaban. If you helped Riddle at all, you go to Azkaban. Money isn't going to buy anyones way out either. By the time my training is done I may not even have any Death Eaters to chase."

A tear came to Harry's eye before he said his next sentence.

"I am finally free of him, we all are. We can just relax and enjoy our lives."

A/N: I know, long chapter. No this is not the end of the story, just seemed like this would be a good place to end this chapter. Most responses I have received are, continue story until the wedding then write a sequel so that is what I will do.

I have started a Yahoo group, see my profile for the address and sign up. I will take questions there and even listen to opinions on what should happen next.

Thanks,

Josh