Hey everyone! I have decided to write the second part due to popular demand and great reviews, and also because I really want to develop the stories of my favorite magical sisters some more! If you stumble upon this one first, I would suggest you to check out Part 1 first in my fic lists. Thank you and happy reading!
The sun was dragging itself slowly across the ever reddening sky, and towards the slopes of the mountains, marking the end of yet another summer day. Its rays reached as far as one of the lakes in the valley and across the grass, climbing slowly up the stone walls and reaching the highest towers with arched windows.
There was no one outside who would witness the beauty of the sunset, as all of the students who were usually reclined by the lake were now inside, waiting for the last feast of the year to begin. The whole castle, save the Great Hall, has fallen silent, and there were no movements in the deserted corridors or the endless flights of stony steps. The rays of sunlight, reaching from the outside, would only sometimes catch the pale shimmering, silvery light of the castle ghosts who were enjoying one moment of silent respite before the halls would get crowded again.
Only one pair of eyes, as hazel as the tops of trees of the Forbidden Forest in the autumn, were glued to the horizon, belonging to a seventeen-year-old girl who was sitting by herself on the stone steps of the entrance, bidding the last goodbye to the sight she has gotten so accustomed to in the past seven years.
Sarah Manning, a girl with a rather bushy hair and a Gryffindor tie hanging loosely around her neck, had not joined her sisters or friends for the goodbye feast, at least not yet. The realization that she would never return to Hogwarts as a student made her sad, though she never showed it in front of her sisters. Her arms were hugging her knees as she recalled all the good memories, and the bad, that she had gone through during the past couple of years, and she hoped that they would never fade from her memory.
Exhaling softly, she still felt a slight pang in her chest whenever her eyes would avert to the line of bushes where she used to hide with Paul Dierden, a boy who had her heart for almost two years before the distance between them made the feelings go away. The tree close to the lake reminded her of all those afternoons she spent with her sisters, Alison, Cosima and Helena, as well as Delphine and Beth, and the row of trees to the right reminded her of that particular day when Felix ran to her and said that he passed all of his exams at the end of his first year.
The corner of her mouth curved into a little smirk when she remembered Helena's excited squeal when she told her that she would be staying at Hogwarts as Hagrid's assistant in care for his creatures, and she was the only one of the sisters who did not get sad when talking about going home the following day.
The song had burst out from the Great Hall at that very moment, and Sarah felt the urge to raise and join in the party, when a soft voice called her name and made her turn around.
A girl with a hair much like hers, only tidier and tied into a low ponytail was grinning at her and holding two cups of pudding in each hand. Her own bronze-and-black tie was neatly tied around her neck, a courtesy of her girlfriend.
"Childs! Is that for me?" Sarah mused, slouching forward in her sitting position and patting the place on the stair beside her. "I thought Alison wouldn't let you out of her sight tonight."
Beth scoffed in response and sat down, shoving the cup in Sarah's hands and nudging her shoulder playfully. "I think you forget that I'm Alison's girlfriend, not her dog, Manning."
"Well you've been bloody dating for two years, and I've seen her tugging that tie of yours more time than I want to remember. So, you might be." Sarah chuckled when she got punched in the shoulder lightly, and then looked out of the horizon again.
"What are you doing out here anyway, I never took you for an emo, contemplating type." Beth shot back, and now it was Sarah's turn to scoff. "Alison got pretty offended at Nearly Headless Nick because he pointed out that you ran away from her and her obsession with N.E.W.T. scores."
Both laughed, and Sarah shook her head. "It's like we're in our fifth year again, innit, with her bloody moaning about the grades. She'll pass them all but she'll not stop going on about it until August. I got out here to think. It's hard when you realize we won't be coming again next year."
Beth nodded, but shrugged. "You know Ali, that's how she rolls. And yeah, I can't believe it myself. But the good thing is that we'll definitely be staying together, with us three at the Ministry, Cosima and Delphine at St. Mungo's."
"Yeah, Helena will be the only one staying behind. At least we're all in one country, yeah? We'll be able to stay at Mrs. S' at Christmas again."
"Yep." Beth nodded, taking a mouthful of the pudding. The two of them sat for a couple of moments in silence as the last sun rays disappeared above the trees of the Forest.
"What do you two think you're doing?" A shrill voice snapped them both out of their thoughts and they looked over their shoulders. Alison's eyebrows were raised up and she was playing with the collar of her own shirt. Her bangs were reaching just under her eyebrows and she blew them out irritably. "You're not going to miss the goodbye feast for whatever reason you think you will. Elizabeth, get your ass off that concrete."
Sarah was laughing again, and she mouthed 'dog' to Beth, but the latter grabbed Sarah by her sleeve and pulled her up with her. "Oh you're coming with too."
The following morning had left a lot of the students from the seventh year teared up as they were looking back at the castle as they were waiting for the carriages with Thestrals to pull up. Sarah did not remember Paul's last year being that emotional to him, but then again, Sarah did not want to remember those years with Paul at all. She had been standing with hands in her pockets and staring at the windows for quite a while now, before she heard someone's footsteps approaching fast.
"I'm late, I'm late, I know, I'm sorry." The girl pulled off her dark rimmed glasses and wiped them off with her sleeve before pushing them up the nose again.
"Alright, Cos?" Sarah suppressed a laugh at her sister, seeing that she was barely catching a breath. Even though Cosima always apologized for being late, that habit of hers never really changed, so no one was taking it to heart anymore. "You're on time, really, because everyone else is finishing their breakfast. You skipped it again or what?"
A lopsided grin appeared on Ravenclaw's face as she tipped her head to the side. "Yeah. Even Delphine didn't bother waking me up because we stayed really late last night…"
"Don't wanna know what you and Frenchie do in spare time, thanks." Sarah cut her off with a clenched jaw and a smirk on her face.
"Oh come Sarah, you know we never, like, do anything when Kate and Billie are in the dorm."
"Still too much information." Sarah teased, waving to catch the attention of the girl who was approaching them. The blonde curls were bouncing slightly as she moved, but she did not really notice it because the food that she was carrying in her arms seemed to be all she was noticing up until the point she spotted Sarah and Cosima standing by the road.
"Sarah!" Helena waved excitedly, running towards them but being careful not to drop any of the sweets she was carrying. "Look, I got candy. For road." She handed one of the Chocolate frogs to Cosima, which the Ravenclaw accepted with a grin on her face.
"Raided the kitchens again, then?" Sarah asked, getting one of the Chocolate frogs herself and unwrapping it.
"Of course." Helena replied with a small smile of her own. "House Elves always pack candy for me."
"Oh look, I got Lupin again. Rad." Cosima said, smiling as she stuffed the wrapping in the pocket of her robe and took a bit of the chocolate. Sarah scoffed. "And I got bloody Lockhart again. Want this?" She raised the card to Helena, which she accepted.
"Thank you, sestra. I almost have all." She beamed, stuffing the rest of the candy in various places of her robes, to the great amusement from the other two.
"'Sup, dipshits." The words made them turn around to see Beth and Alison coming up to them. The Hufflepuff was beaming widely, the way she always did when she was around Alison, while the latter wiped her eyes with a silver-and-green embroidered napkin.
"Everything okay, Alison?" Cosima asked, a small frown appearing on her face.
"She's just sad that we're done with Hogwarts." Beth said before Alison could speak.
"Not all of us." A male voice appeared behind them, as Felix joined them, his black cat and Helena's white one right at his feet.
"Yeah, you still have five years of exams, O.W.L.s, N.E.W.T.s, and you can't even Apparate yet. I'm dying of envy." Sarah said with a roll of her eyes but still wrapped her arm around Felix's shoulders and pulled him into a half hug. "I thought you already left with your Hufflepuff lot. Where are they?"
"No, they're still at breakfast." Fee replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "So I came here to tell you that I'll be taking the train with them this year." He looked somewhat guilty, especially when Cosima teased him with: 'Oh so you're ditching us for your new friends, huh?', even though a wide smile was across her face.
"We're not cool enough for you or something?" Sarah added, before chuckling. "Don't worry Fee, I'm glad you made friends."
"Speaking of", Alison said with a little sniff, "where's Helena? And Delphine?"
"Right here, sestra." Helena said with her mouth full as she got up from the ground. She had previously sat down and played with the two cats behind Sarah, and Alison shook her head, tapping her own forehead with tips of her fingers.
"Sorry, Helena. I'm still not used to you with blond hair."
"Looks good on her though, yeah?" Sarah replied rather proudly – she has been the one who dyed her sister's hair only couple of days before. Helena smiled to herself, and returned her attention towards the cats.
"And I am right here." A voice called behind Alison's back as Delphine came down the path with an apologetic smile on her face. "I am sorry, I have been discussing things with the Headmistress. I will need my letters sent to my new apartment in London, so that is why she… I needed to give her my new address."
Delphine was the tallest of the group now that they have been older, even though she was barely taller than Cosima when they met for the first time two years previously, upon Delphine's arrival from Beauxbatons. Cosima was now teasing her on a daily basis for her 'long killer legs', which the blonde Ravenclaw dismissed with a big smile on her face and a: tais-toi Cosima.
"Did you tell her that you're gonna be living with me and that we're practically married now?" The dreadlocked sibling asked with a cheeky grin, causing a giggle from Delphine who came to stand by her side and intertwine their fingers.
"I see Thestrals coming." Helena said, finally pulling up to her feet and cuddling her cat, Tomas, in her hands.
"Say goodbye to Hogwarts, everyone." Beth said with a somewhat sad smile on her face as she squeezed Alison's shoulder because she started sniffling again.
"Hey, come on, Alison." Cosima spoke gently, even though she sighed deeply, too. "We can always come to visit Helena, right?" To which Helena nodded quickly. "Yes. You can come when you are free. All the time." She said, swallowing the last piece of her fourth chocolate frog.
"I see a free carriage. Let's go." Sarah said, ruffling Felix's hair. He was staying behind to wait for his second year friends.
"See ya in London, kid!" Cosima waved, leaning into Delphine as they started walking, as did everyone else.
When they were sat in carriages comfortably, they glanced at the castle, now basking in the morning sunlight, and each of them sank deep into their thoughts, somewhat sad but also very excited for the following summer that they would spend together in London.