Chapter Text
Chorus: The events of October 31, 1998 made way for many new beginnings at Hogwarts school. We shall attempt to fill you in with a suitable postlude that goes as follows:
First, there were the rumors about Sally-Anne Perks. There were no completely satisfactory explanations given by her or by witnesses for why she decided to wreak havoc on Hogwarts school. Rumors range from revenge over being expelled for cheating in classes, to somehow magically concealing squibhood, before she was discovered and ousted circa 1993/1994. Due to lack of knowledge about her identity and true reasoning, the Daily Prophet had no hope of outlining a satisfactory sketch of her for their story of the disastrous (and pointless) fallout that the paintball game caused for the school. This was lucky for Percy Weasley, who still to this day has NO idea about his creepy attention-seeking stalker, and hopefully never will.
Something most can agree on, however, is that Sally-Anne was forced to make good on her promised prize money. It was that, or face charges for vandalizing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (Her uncle allegedly faced criminal bribery charges for his illicit activities in the NEWT testing department after, so the NEWT prize was a no-go, as Hermione predicted. Not that Luna cared much.) Luna Lovegood turned around and gave all the money to the school to hire a maintenance crew to assist Filch in speedy and thorough clean-up. Filch wept with gratitude for all of five minutes, and then spent the hours of miraculous cleaning grumbling about how the crew in question was ‘cheating’ by using magic to clean, and how they weren’t doing it as well as he could’ve if just left to do it alone. (All this while stroking his horrible cat as he watched on lazily... Git.)
Viktor Krum disappeared in a literal (figurative) puff of smoke. Only the members of the Seventh-Floor Corridor Final Stand testify to his presence that strange night, and no one can seem to get Hermione to talk about their failed relationship, though most are under the impression he came back to win her over again. Viktor presumably slunk back to his country, licking his wounds, and was never heard from or seen at Hogwarts from that day forward.
Following that fateful night, the student body shifted considerably to make way for such unexpected pairings as Harry & Theo, Hermione & Draco, Ron & Padma, Neville & Pansy, Luna & Millicent, and even Blaise & Ginny, all seen breakfasting together the next morning to the great astonishment of the student body at large. (Lavender & Parvati notably sat a good distance apart, unable to recover what little dregs of friendship they’d still had a day before all this went down.)
We have no intentions of going into more detail than that.
Oh.
What’s that you say?
How dare we? How DARE we??
Fine.
FINE.
We shall backtrack. After all, we wouldn’t want our lovely readers to have a bitter taste in their mouth because of lack of closure.
Harry & Theo. Oh, these fledgling starry-eyed sweethearts. These two went on to partner in potions for the rest of eighth year. It’s been told that Theo, while NOT an avid quidditch fan was seen wearing Harry’s red and gold scarf at every game that season, that they holed up at Hogwarts school together, ALONE, for the Christmas Holidays, and that Theo gifted Harry a most prized Nott family heirloom ring at graduation. Perhaps there will be wedding bells in the future for this adorable couple? As for Ginny, she never did kill Theo, and even grudgingly admitted that he wasn’t half bad by the time the school year ended. Harry went on to rock the wizarding world with record-setting scores in Auror training, while Theo was hired to work as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries fresh out of school with excellent NEWT scores and recommendations. They’re spotted walking hand in hand through the Atrium of the Ministry every day, and are often overheard saying that someday, it would be nice to officially adopt Harry’s Godson Teddy Lupin. What an adorable family they would be.
Hermione & Draco. While they allegedly didn’t have the most conventional start to their relationship, these two seemed to have blossomed into quite the dynamic duo, taking their world by storm, first as legendary Head Boy and Head Girl partners, and then later studying abroad together in France; Draco for a Potions Mastery, and Hermione as a Healer. In an unofficial poll of the 1999 graduating class, Draco and Hermione won most likely couple to be caught in a compromising position. To this day, students feel the need to knock before entering a broom cupboard, or empty classroom, or heaven forbid, the prefect’s bath, because of one too many run-ins with this insatiable pair. When asked how they manage to deal with the stress of coming from two disparate worlds, Hermione politely asks people to kindly stay out of her personal matters, and Draco has no qualms whatsoever in offering his middle finger. He clearly doesn’t give a fuck, and surprisingly, neither does his mother. As Lucius was locked up in Azkaban for a life-sentence following the war, he has no say in the relationship.
Ron & Padma. Most agree that this coupling is beyond strange. But for any who watched closely after the fateful paintball game concluded, these two were constantly on fire, thriving off of their playful games of cool disinterest and biting banter. Try as they might, no witch has ever been able to snag Ronald Weasley’s attention since he started eating breakfast exclusively at Ravenclaw table. There was rumored to be an altercation at the 1999 Annual Great-Britain Wizarding Chess Tournament in the summer following their Hogwarts graduation, at which Ron and Padma were both finalists. In a tense moment during the climax of their game when Padma made her final winning play, Ron tackled her to the ground in what appeared to be a fight, but really, they were viciously snogging, and had to be pulled apart by no less than four security guards, and then were promptly arrested for indecent behavior. Apparently, they’d had a bet going and Ron was paying up for losing against Padma. Some say Ron has their ensuing mugshots framed for Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, where he works with his brother, George. They refuse to define their relationship, but are reportedly exclusive with each other.
Parvati Patil- This magnificent young woman, while still holding on to an arguably unhealthy obsession with divination, went on to be quite the fighter, training alongside Harry as an Auror following school, going on to become an active duty Auror as well as a trainer. When asked about her inspiration for teaching prospective Aurors, Parvati gets a secret smile and her eyes take on a faraway look, as if remembering a long-ago paint-ball game with an army of first-year fighters that inspired her to be her best. She continues to live as a liberated woman, content with her independence and choices each day with her typical effervescent and joyful attitude, no relationship needed for now. She consents to meet with Lavender for tea every so often, but has thankfully set some boundaries with her old friend, even though things are still kind of awkward.
Luna & Millicent- We know it seems like happy endings mean that people end up together forever, but with these two, a beautiful friendship led to the sweet beginnings of something more, but following Hogwarts, these two drifted apart, as many couples do when following different paths. After graduation, Luna went on an expedition to Greenland to study magizoology and make artistic representations of the almost-unbelievable discoveries she made, and Millicent got a job in broomstick design and manufacturing with her uncle. It is rumored that she is working on a prototype for the next in the line of Cleansweep racing brooms, and introducing a more varied selection of brooms for families, couples, disabilities, and children. They still maintain occasional correspondence through owls.
Blaise & Ginny- We know what you’re thinking. Ginny got the rotten end of the stick in this story, and we apologize, but sometimes that’s how the cards are dealt. But be in known that Blaise Zabini was the most attentive of lovers, completely devoted to being the best rebound in the history of rebounds. So good, in fact, that Ginny Weasley has supposedly rebounded with Blaise no less than eight times at last count. They just can’t quit each other, no matter what they try. These days, they are on again, hopefully for good, because what’s not to love about a professional Quidditch player dating a sports-writer for the Daily Prophet? And there’s no denying with his cheekbones and her athletic ability that their children would be extraordinary indeed.
And… finally. Neville & Pansy. Fairy-tale enemies-to-lovers. While we can’t promise that Pansy quickly changed her snarky, biting temper for sunshine and rainbows, there isn’t a day that goes by where she doesn’t apologize to Neville and promise to be nicer, and not a day goes by where Neville doesn’t forgive her. He’s endlessly patient, and loving, and kind. Pansy still refuses to acknowledge that steadily, day by day, she is changing too, happy and thriving with someone who understands her completely. As for their relationship, Dean and Seamus report that they did not see Neville sleep in their dormitory once for the rest of that school year, which begs the question as to whether sleeping arrangements are or should be more closely monitored by Hogwarts staff. Needless to say, Neville and Pansy likely mastered silencing and imperturbable charms from all their practice at keeping things quiet in Pansy’s four-poster bed, at least, Daphne and Millicent seemed blissfully ignorant of any questionable activities going on in their shared dormitory. In addition to these suspicious circumstances, they were often seen sneaking around a certain seventh-floor corridor, indicating that perhaps the Room of Requirement has some secrets to tell. At graduation when asked about future plans, Pansy coyly stuffed her left hand in her pocket before the reporter could inquire what was glittering on her finger, and the two admitted to plans of opening a magical garden café together in Diagon Alley. Rumor is, they eloped not long after.
The only part of the school that remains tribute to the paint-ball competition that most today believe is an urban myth of some kind, is the poor tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, hopelessly ruined by speckled color and waves of brown. Poor Agatha Applewood is probably rolling in her grave somewhere, but we don’t hear anyone else complaining.
FIN