too close to the stars - H.J.P

Epilogue

March 2000

Noel was nervous, she felt as if her heart was in her throat. Her dream of opening a clinic designated for werewolves was finally ready for its grand opening. With Kingley and Hemione both working in the Ministry she was able to work with the two to get rid of the werewolf legislative laws that were making their everyday life a living nightmare. They were finally able to get employed without being denied because of their condition. Now with no laws in place it made building the clinic a lot easier which wasn't to say it wasn't hard, because it was.

Noel couldn't count how many sleepless nights she had from staying up from worrying, working out issues with permits and licensing, sometimes she stayed up crying because it was the best way to get everything out. On top of getting the clinic ready Noel had to get her Healer credentials from St.Mungos which wasn't very difficult because of her title with the Order during the war.

Standing inside she saw all the beds with fresh clean beds, ready to be used. Her staff, who were eager to help and learn, stood around excitedly wearing their dark purple robes, the same color as the wolfsbane flower. Speaking of which, she had so many donations during the building of the clinic that they had enough supplies to make Wolfsbane completely free.

Noel, although proud of herself she couldn't help but have a heavy heart. All of this was meant for her dad, she wanted him to be her first patient that walked through those doors. She and Harry had taken a lot of time to process the effects of the war and slowly she grew to accept that her dad's death had nothing to do with her and it was just a cruel way of the way the world works. She tried to incorporate him in every way she could, with his favorite color splashed here and there. The accent wall was the same shade of green as his eyes and there was a big frame that held pictures of the werewolves Noel worked with and their families.

The center picture was one of her and her dad, they had been to the beach that day, she was around five, she didn't remember that day at all, but the wide smile of their faces told her that it must've been a good one. She wanted the pictures to serve as a reminder that just because they had the unfortunate condition it didn't mean that they couldn't be happy.

"Noel you ready?" Harry asked, popping his head in, startling her slightly. He was wearing a suit and tie while she wore a simple gray dress underneath her white doctor's coat.

"Yeah, just a little nervous." She admitted, wrapping her arms around herself. "Do you think anyone's going to come?" She asked him, furrowing her eyebrows in worry. "Why don't you come out and see for yourself?" Harry asked, extending his hand out for her to take.

Noel took it, letting him drag her out to the front where she gasped in surprise by the round up of people. Theo with his girlfriend Violette  with Lucy beside them. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were there as well as Hagrid. Hermione, Ron and Luna. Leah, Tommy, Surge and some other members of her dad's colony were there looking at the sight, amazed. The Weasley bunch, she saw Mr and Mrs Weasley talking to George and Katie Bell. Bill, Fleur, Percy and even Charlie had shown up. There were so many people that Noel couldn't keep track of them all.

"What is all this?" She asked Harry, who shrugged a shoulder, giving her a smirk.

"I had to let everyone know that my amazing girlfriend is opening up the first werewolf clinic and shelter for werewolves. People wanted to come and see the grand opening."

"Harry..."

He shook his head, "You deserve to be proud of this Noel. They should be so incredibly proud of you, I know I am."

Noel gave a breathy laugh and looked over at the crowd who were now watching her eagerly. "Um, I don't really know what to say, other than thank you to everyone who's helped make this come true. I made this clinic not for my own benefit but for the people who have suffered the same as my dad. This clinic is for him and I wish more than anything that he was here with me." Noel said, blinking away her tears. "Without further ado, 'The Lupin Memorial Clinic' is now open!"