Chimaera Of Judgement

54: Ties To The Future

Notes: This being the last note, I'm holding court up top this time; it seems tacky to babble like a ninny AFTER the end of the story. [QUICK EDIT: I've been asked twice now... which means it's my fault for never finding a good place to mention it, so here we go, THINGS I FORGOT: Rose can see thestrals because she witnessed a traffic accident when she was small, in which she saw one of the persons involved die. Nobody she knew, just an innocent Muggle, but it still upset her. As you can see, it's only moderately interesting, so I kept putting off and putting off its inclusion... and then never did get around to it. Sorry! Let's see... :digs through notes: Dunno who made the connection that one of the Chimaera's stones belonged to Professor Trelawney, because though I had Malkin mention it, I'm not sure it was very clear. It was the black one, by the way. Jezabel's (adoptive) brother's name is Marcus... after her great-grandfather. Her parents' names were Lance and Regina. Wow, sadly I only ever named her sister in the text. Wombie was, of course, the name of Rose's old teddy - it was rather beaten up and haggard, and when Rose began to grow out of needing one she handed it off to Albus for safe-keeping. Aiden McLaggen and Brunhilda Vane are brother and sister, though neither know it; parents divorced when they were babies and each picked the kid they wanted. Awful. Dryden's mother was Native American; hard to slip that one in there. "Venterefercio" is a Stomach-Cramp Jinx. HAHA, here's a good line I never had the opportunity to use: "Her fist lashed out and connected with a marble statue of a goblin, which yelped at her in protest." I had the wonderful, giddy idea to name Scorpius's little sister Hydrangia - luckily I had no chance to follow through on it. If there's ever anything else you were wondering about, let me know and I'll update it here eventually. JX]

Earnestly, verily, superfluously, THANK YOU ALL for reading. This is the lengthiest single project I've guided through to fruition, and regardless of whether or not it has any literary merit, I look on it with a sort of pride, like a mother and her child. Or something along those lines. This feeling... there's really nothing like it on earth. I wish all of you to feel this, through written word or song or just your daily lives. Now, enough of this sentimental pap - the final curtain awaits.

Au revoir.

-Jessex

o o o

The next morning, Albus awoke to find most of his bunkmates were already dressed and in the middle of packing. As long as he'd known them, only Caspian had ever bothered to pack the night before, and this year he had been through enough that no one was surprised that he left it for later. Rubbing his face, Albus quickly struggled into everyday Muggle clothing and began tossing his things into his trunk.

"Ready to head on home, Albie?" Ryan asked as he carefully packed the box that had once contained the cursed monocle. "Got the whole summer to decide when you're gonna tell the Quibbler what really happened a few nights ago."

"Why would you want to keep that thing?" Albus was actually curious, but he mostly asked to deflect Ryan's line of questioning.

"Why wouldn't I? All right, yeah, it's supposed to be yours, but... they won't let me keep the monocle itself, it's still cursed."

"Yeah, but- well, wouldn't you want to burn it? You were almost stuck there for all eternity!"

Ryan shrugged, tossing a pair of robes on top of it. "I lived there for a week. Sure, I was worried I'd never make it out, but I didn't die from it, and it's a fairly unique adventure. Seems kind of stupid to bin it without a backward glance, doesn't it?"

"I suppose. But I've had enough 'unique' adventures this year that it would be more unique to spend a boring summer sitting around Grimmauld Place."