Round 1: Friendship

Team: Tutshill Tornadoes

Position: Beater 2

Relationship: Romance - Su Li / Morag MacDougal

Prompts: Postcards; "Do not regret growing old. It is a privilege denied to many." – Anonymous

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS

Seventy five years. To think it had been that long since the fall of Voldemort. Su Li-Wisen was contemplating this fact in her mind. To her, it had past in the blink of an eye. Life was like that, it seemed. The old adage 'sand through the hourglass' repeated in her head.

Hogwarts had planned a huge celebration to commemorate the events. Su originally did not intend to go to any of them. The school, which had been her home for seven years, also housed memories – those she wished to forget and those she wished to hide in the depths of her heart.

She made a new home and life for herself after Hogwarts, successfully repressing all she had witnessed and experienced. She had married a loving man and then raised four brilliant wizards who had gone off and started families of their own. Su was about to settle into a peaceful retirement with her husband when suddenly, he passed away quietly in his sleep six months ago.

She missed him terribly. Liam Wisen was a good man who treated her and her sons well. He, in time, became her best friend. But now that he was gone, she was alone to face her conscience and thoughts without any means of distraction. Thoughts she had believed would have disappeared by now, even after 75 years.

Of course, if Su hadn't received those little reminders that had awoken her treacherous emotions, perhaps they would have faded away. She never was one to keep in touch with her old school friends. To her, friends come and go. If she lost one, she could meet someone new. Over time, fewer owl posts arrived addressed to her that weren't asking for her money or advertising services.

There had to be one exception. Morag MacDougal was relentless, unlike the rest of her old Ravenclaw compatriots.

But from all Su recollected, Morag was always like that. So much so that it was a wonder how the girl had been sorted into Ravenclaw. She had a sharp wit, and she was always thirsting for an adventure.

Morag was protective of her friends, but even moreso with Su. When the second war heated up, she had offered to help protect Su's family. Morag had relatives working for the Ministry. Su was grateful, and she didn't know how she could ever repay her. But when the Ministry fell, their relationship was put on hold.

Trusting Morag had made Su vulnerable. It wasn't until a few weeks after the infiltration that she realized what had happened to the Ministry. Her family's safety was jeopardized, and Morag hadn't said a word. When she discovered the truth, Su realized how dangerous her relationship with Morag had become.

Su lost her usual calm disposition. She cried. She accused Morag of betraying her trust. She had asked why this happened, and why she had kept it from her for so long. Morag's response was raw and emotional: "I couldn't tell you, because I knew it would break your heart, and I didn't want to do that to you. I didn't know how…" Her voice faded, but she added once more, "I didn't want to break your heart."

Things were never the same after that moment. Their 'friendship' had crossed that unknown threshold, and they could never go back to the simplicity they once had shared. Su decided she had to play it safe. Morag may have enjoyed spontaneity and adventure, but she could not live like that. She needed order.

The war ended at Hogwarts. Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter, and it was time to rebuild lives that were shaken by the battle. The next time Su saw Morag was a month later. She was her usual spirited self, exclaiming that life was too quiet after everything they had lived through. She needed a new purpose.

Su didn't see it like that. "Maybe you had too much excitement in your life. You should settle down. Get married. Raise a family," she had told her.

Morag shook her head vigorously. "I don't think there's a man out there that will ever understand me. I know what I want to feel like when I meet that person, and until they are ready, I will forever be out of their reach. I'd rather be everywhere alone than settle for a sedentary half-life."

Returning back to the present, Su shivered, remember the emotion in her friend's eyes as they met hers. Morag went off her separate way, and even after 75 years, she never slowed down.

Despite not seeing her since that meeting, the small box sitting in front of her had kept her close to Morag all these years. Inside the keepsake were hundreds of postcards from every location one could think of. From exotic tropical islands, to bustling cities, to cold tundras, to vast cavernous mountains, Morag had seen it all. She had traveled as she said she would, searching high and low for her new purpose in life.

The messages written on the back were sparse. Usually just small bits about the weather. But she always had signed "wish you were here" at the end.

The moving images on the front of the cards made Su feel inferior. Morag had done so much with her life in 75 years. She climbed mountains and went on safaris. All Su did with her time was clean nappies and cook dinners. That wasn't much of a legacy to leave behind.

Half her life was over and she barely done anything she had planned on as a young Ravenclaw student. This shamed her tremendously. So many people had died during the war. She survived, and look how she used the time she was fortunately blessed with!

When Liam passed, this fact was brought to her full attention, and she had no one to bear the burden with her. No one would understand. But like an answered prayer, another owl bearing a message from the Great Wall of China in its talons arrived. Seeing the familiar loopy script made her react in a way she hadn't done in so many years. It had awoken a feeling of yearning in her heart. And so she wrote to her long lost friend.

She wrote of the new of her late husband, and of the emptiness her life was now filled. She explained how she had kept every last message from her – how she wished she could have been there, traveling with her. She wrote about how she regretted not taking chances in life, or doing more with the time she had wasted. And finally, she wrote of how she missed her, and longed for the day when they could be together again.

As she tied the parchment to her owl, she didn't know if it would ever find Morag, but it was therapeutic nonetheless to get her true emotions out.

The next postcard Su received was one of Hogwarts. A simple message on the back said this: Please be at the 75th commemoration ~ Morag.

And so Su waited inside The Three Broomsticks. Not much had changed there, which was comforting to her during this anxious, long awaited meeting.

The door chimed. Morag walked in. Their eyes met.

In 75 years, nothing had changed.

Morag approached the table, another card in her hand. At least, Su thought it was another postcard. But as it was handed to her, she realized it was actually a photo of a small cottage. Su's cottage.

"It's not an official postcard, but I was hoping that it would be my final trip. My last destination," Morag said as a greeting.

Understanding the implication, Su relaxed her tense shoulders. "So after all this time, you finally found your purpose?"

Morag smiled. "I found it a long time ago. I was simply waiting for you to realize it."

Su smiled in return, and she now knew it was true. All this time was not a waste. It was simply a long road traveled, leading her to the home where she had always belonged.