“Ah, the last day of school.”

“I’m going to miss this place.”

“We’re coming back in a few months, Ni!  Good grief, you can’t miss it that much?”

“You haven’t met my parents.  Oh, hell!  They’re going to kill me!  I bet my dad’s still pissed over what Professor Snape did to him!”

“What’d he do?” asked Mika lazily.

“Froze him,” answered Harry, eyes closed as he lay on the ground.  “’E reminds me of Aunt Petunia a little.”

“That means he reminds you of Malfoy.”  Niamh winced.  “Ewww.  That’s gross.  Malfoy as my dad…”

“Erug!” exclaimed the other five, all of them staring at her.

“Thanks for tha’ thought, Ni,” grumbled Harry.  “I’m na going ter be able to sleep for weeks now.”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Ginny.  “Ew, that’s gross.”

“Hey,” said Niamh, leaning towards the redhead.  “How do you think I feel?  Its my dad we’re talking about here!”

“Yeh.  Well, if ye want, Da can send them an owl and ye can stay with us.”

“Really?”

“Sure.  Da won’t mind and if they say no, he’ll keep ye anyway.  Not like they can do anything ter us.”

Niamh squealed and leapt upon Harry, bear-hugging him.

“Harry, mate, you’re a lifesaver!”

< Speaking of lifesavers, > said Jardin from above them in a tree.  < I stole a pack out of your trunk. >

“What?!”

< Ginny made me do it. >

“Jardin, that’s a lie!” exclaimed the redhead.

< I do not have the ability to lie. >

“Liar,” muttered Harry good-naturedly.

Jardin snort mentally and turned his back on the six of them.

“Oh, c’mon, Jar!” yelled Mika.  “Be a sport!”

“Leave ‘im be,” said Harry, sitting up.  He looked at his watch and exclaimed, “Bludgering hell!  The feast is about to start!”

The six of them scrambled to their feet and ran up into the castle.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Dumbledore chuckled at the small cluster of students in the middle of the Gryffindor table and leaned over to Severus, who sat to his left and was also watching the group.

“I see they are all friends again.”

“Yes,” said Severus with a nod.  “Ron apologized to Harry in the Shrieking Shack.”

“You did well there.”

Severus laughed.

“Albus, I nearly took Black’s head off the moment I saw him.  It was only Harry that stopped me from doing that just that.”

“Wouldn’t have boded very well,” said Dumbledore.

“Not really.  Hellhounds, what’s in this cider?”

“I think the Weasley twins laced it with a bottle of Ogden’s Firewhiskey.”

“How’d they…”  Severus shook his head and chuckled.

“Oh, nevermind how they did it.  I need a drink right about now.”

“Ah, yes, Harry asked you if Miss O’Feir could stay with the two of you over the summer.”

“Gods.  Both of them in the Manor.  I’m not going to survive.”  Severus downed the Firewhiskey-laced cider and watched in amusement as the goblet refilled itself.  “Gods.”

Dumbledore patted his arm and said cheerfully, “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

“You might want to come make sure I’m still alive every once and a while.”

“I’ll do that.”

Severus smiled and looked over at his son, sitting at the Gryffindor table with his friends and chatting animatedly.

Oh, it was going to be a long summer.