The Secret Unfurled

I'm sure that straight after the battle at Hogwartsat the end of book 7, everyone would have been told the truth about everything, but let's just say they weren't given the privilige....

"Dad...?"
"Don't worry, Lily. I'm... I'm fine."
"No, Dad. You're not. I'm gonna go get Mum..."
"Lily! Please. D-don't..."
"Muuuuuuuum! Dad's cryyyyying and..."
Harry Potter put his face in his hands and wept shamelessly, even though he didn't want his Wife or daughter to see. Next to him was an ancient wizard's hat, grubby and torn. Lying next to it was a gorgeous sword, with rubies in the hilt and a little note stuck on the tip of the sword. The note was written in beautifully thin, slanting handwriting Harry thought he would never see again.
Just for nostelgia, Harry. Show your family, show your closest friends.
Then place it back inside the hat.
When you leave the room, they will both be restored for the Griffindor student who will need it next.
Why was he crying!?  There was no point crying. Crying over near deaths and misses all over England? Crying over the very real deaths of family and loved ones, lost almost 20 years ago? Crying because the huge adventure of his life, the adventure that had started when he was 11 and finished when he was 17... crying because it was finished? He had never cried over the adventure's end before.
Ginny Potter came rushing in. She spotted Harry curled up into a ball next to the sorting hat and the sword of Griffindor. She gave a little squeak and ran to Harry.
"Harry, Harry!" she said breathlessly, "Why do you have the sword? You only ever aquire it if..."
"...If there is great danger," Harry said in a choked voice. He handed the note to Ginny. She read it silently. Then she dropped it and said to Harry "Thi-This is Dumbledore's handwriting, Harry." He didn't have time to nod - she was ploughing on. "It means that you can tell me that little story of yours I've never been allowed to hear."
Her voice seemed poisonous, but really it was kind and a little excited.
"Let's call Ron and Hermione over," Harry murmured, "I'll send them a note..."
He pulled out a galleon from his pocket, then drew his wand. He tapped the coin a few times, and then within a second, Ron, Hermione and Hugo all appeared with a sudden crack.
Lily rushed in, surprised to see so many people in her parent's bedroom. Ginny beckoned her youngest to sit with her on the bed. Everyone decided this wasn't a bad idea either. Soon they were all snug on the bed.
"Well," Harry began, when I was 11, I recieved the shock of my life. I was mailed a letter..."

Author's Note

Awww, I can't stop writing these sorts of stories!!!!