102 102. Beginning Of The End

"WOAH! Is that a Vela?" Happy tried to change the topic and looked away. "She's not really that pretty."

Happy didn't lie, since this Fleur seemed to be the one from the live-action. Meanwhile, the description of Fleur in the book was of a heavenly beauty with no equals, with charms that could lure men to do the unspeakable. While this one was just… average.

"Stop ignoring us! Just answer us," the three girls insisted.

Happy sighed and looked them in the eyes. "Look, guys. The three of you are my good friends, and you forcing me to choose one is the same as asking me to backstab the others. I'm not that kind of person… So I say, let's join the dance floor together, and all four of us will dance with each other. There are no rules saying a girl can't dance with another girl."

"Makes sense." Daphne was the first one to reply. "I'm only doing this since my Dad wants me to seduce you."

"..."

"I-Isn't that being a bit too honest?" Happy mumbled, smiling wryly. "You don't need to do this if you don't want to."

She scoffed. "But now I want to… and perhaps I'll get to ride that dragon with you. I've always dreamt about it."

Happy chuckled. "Let's just go and dance then. As for Lady Snow… she won't mind giving all of you a ride if you're kind to her."

With that, Happy joined the dance. It was very intense and lasted a while since he had to dance with each of them. But he didn't get tired at all and just had fun since it would be his last peaceful day for the coming few months, until the end of the fourth year.

"Jump!"

At Happy's words, he made the three girls dance in tune with him. They weren't always touchy and mostly copied each other. Happy, who was more spontaneous than a wild creature, mimicked moves from all the films he had watched—Pulp Fiction or whatnot.

Almost everyone wanted to hang out with Happy, be it boys or girls, from all three schools. The party lasted until late at night as the music changed and the atmosphere shifted. Harry and Ron didn't leave early this time despite having a rough start to the evening.

But as the evening started nearing an end, and tired students began taking seats, Happy called it a day as well and decided to move on with his main task. But first, he walked over to Neville Longbottom, who was sitting with his evening companion, Ginny Weasely.

"That was a great evening, Happy," Neville exclaimed, certainly in an adrenaline rush from the dancing.

Happy chuckled and handed the boy a box. "This is for you, Neville. Feed these to your parents. They'll wake up within twenty-four hours after eating it. They may still have some lingering headaches, so keep giving them Calming Draught. Take them to some peaceful place, and feed them some tasty food."

"W-What?"

Neville wasn't sure what he had just heard. "What do you mean?"

Happy shoved the box onto Neville's lap. "It's a cure for wizards and muggles, victims of torture by the Cruciatus Curse, Neville. The rest of you know what needs to be done. Have a good weekend."

Happy then turned around to go and find someone else. But all of a sudden, Neville got up and pulled him back by the shoulder.

"H-Happy." Neville stuttered as usual. "Thank you… And I'm sorry for what I did in our first year."

Neville suddenly hugged Happy, his eyes tearful. He was already experiencing the best day of his life after many, many years. And now, Happy turned it into the best day of his lifetime, possibly until his end.

Happy patted Neville's back. "Alright, alright… Don't cry now. Just go and write a letter to your grandma."

Neville quickly wiped his eyes and ran away. After that, Happy walked over to Cedric Diggory, who was talking with some older Beauxbatons girl he brought as a partner for the evening.

"Congratulations on being a Champion and doing this well." Happy shook the boy's hand, sadly unable to overlook the image of the brooding shiny vampire.

"Thank you… that was quite the entrance. A magical goose, and now a dragon and phoenix. I'm sure you'll soon be teaching Care of Magical Creatures in the school, taking poor Hagrid's job." Cedric jokingly said.

Happy laughed and made small talk before handing the boy a tiny vial. "Use this for the final task only… may luck be with you."

"What do—"

Happy wasted no time and walked away, disappearing into the crowd and heading straight to Dumbledore's office.

He went up to the Griffin elevator and arrived at the door. He could hear multiple muffled voices coming from within.

'Alright… Let's do this.'

He took a deep breath and walked into the office. Professor Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall went silent. There were also Newt Scamander and Sirius Black.

"Hello there… Are we ready?" Happy asked. "Once I'm gone, things will run on their own. A few months in the future, when I will ask you to appear somewhere, you must do it; ready to battle."

"Are you sure about this?" Dumbledore inquired, his face looking firm and worried. "We can find a different way to deal with this."

"It'll be too late by then." Happy replied. "This opportunity will never come a second time. A chance to end all of it in one go. We have already won ninety percent of the game. The rest of it just needs some overwhelming force from us."

Sadly, Happy couldn't reveal everything to them. He needed to ensure that his plan went smoothly.

"Alright then." Newt confidently got up from his seat. "It's Happy we're talking about. He may seem clumsy and an airhead, but that's only for food. As for everything else, he's fully competent. So let's believe in him."

Happy looked at his favorite beast studies teacher. 'Is he making fun of me, or praising me?'

"Proceed, then," Sirius approached Happy. "Be careful when you enter that place. The first night poses the greatest challenge. But, as you claim, the Dementors are scared of you. So I trust you won't encounter any issues."

…

Happy went to the exit gate of Hogwarts, where a team of Aurors waited for him.

But there, Harry Ron, and Hermione also appeared, still in their formal clothes. With brows furrowed, they huddled around Happy.

"Why are they taking you?" Harry asked.

"Well, a few bad muggles died during my efforts to stop the genocide. But don't worry, it'll be a short adventure in Azkaban… In and out."

"But you helped them! This is wrong!" Hermione exclaimed, teary-eyed. "They should have awarded you instead."

"Hey, don't worry, you three. Things are under control. I have Dumbledore, MACUSA's President, and many more standing behind me. The Ministry won't stand a chance against me. And don't you forget that I'm a trillionaire—the richest man in the world." Happy proudly proclaimed.

"Wait… Seriously?" Ron's jaw fell.

"Forget that. Harry, you got to win this tournament. I'll see you all again in a few months." Happy bid them a short farewell.

The three looked at Happy with their sad puppy eyes.

Happy chuckled and called them over. "Alright, you can hug me, guys."

Woosh!

The three jumped in to hug him, squeezing him between themselves. Happy chuckled and patted their backs before letting them go.

However, Hermione kept hugging him, her head nestled on his shoulder, "Take care, please."

"I will… And one more thing." Happy said in a low voice so the others couldn't listen. "I know what's on your mind. I know why you even rejected Viktor. But I'll be honest, I'm not mature enough to think that far. Perhaps, in the future; But for now, I just wish to end this all and live the next three years at school in complete peace."

Hermione embarrassingly nodded and stepped back. "As expected from the famed Happy Lestrange… And this is awkward."

Happy chuckled and stepped away, "See you soon."

With that, Happy headed to the group of Aurors standing at Hogwarts' entrance. The Aurors were some wizards who had invested in his business. Heck, almost all of the purebloods and powerful people in the British wizarding circle had invested in Happy's bank.

However, the only group of purebloods who still remained staunchly loyal to Voldemort were in Azkaban. And to deal with them, he had to go there himself. Moreover, the last of his family lived there, and perhaps it was time to pay them a visit.

However, he had no wish to go down without making some noise. Minister Fudge's career was about to be destroyed beyond repair.

…

The morning came, and the Daily Prophet delivered its papers around the world. However, that day even the other papers, no matter which wizarding country it existed in, had the same story on the first page—showing an article written by the same woman.

[Heresy Of The Ministry! Happy Flamel Lestrange Sent To Azkaban for Stopping a War! — Last night, Happy Flamel Lestrange, the Lord of House Lestrange and the inheritor of the ancient wizard Nicolas Flamel, returned to Hogwarts on his steed—a Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon, with a Phoenix on his shoulder along with the mighty goose.

The Ministry sent its Aurors to arrest Mr. Lestrange and place him in Azkaban for breaking the statute of secrecy—which is untrue, for the world still remains ignorant of magic's existence. So what was Lord Lestrange's fault? Saving children? Feeding the hungry? Having a righteous and kind heart?

We must ask this question ourselves today. Is this excessive punishment justified? When the poor and hungry die in some parts of the world from famine, possible wizard children also die. Alone, and in a year, Lord Lestrange had brought more good to the world than the entire Ministry for Magic combined.

From providing jobs and opportunities to wizards, to supporting poor wizards in their studies or research. Lord Lestrange's only fault was that he didn't know that in the Ministry's eyes, being kind was a crime—Now it remains a mystery if the Minister will change his mind, or become an ugly dark mark in the annals of history.

Daily Prophet

Rita Skeeter]