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Chapter 10

An hour later, after all her things had been gathered and her goodbyes said. Caroline stood with Malcolm, Mackenzie and the two lieutenants watching Chrestomanci draw a chalk pentangle on the floor of the Great Hall. Quite a crowd had gathered to watch because no one had ever seen this done before. Caroline herself was a little nervous because last time, she had been asleep.

She held the sword in one hand and Malcolm's hand in the other.

Everyone she had known at Hogwarts was lined up, so that they could say goodbye. It felt like a receiving line. People that she barely knew were wishing her well and saying that they'd miss her.

She felt Malcolm stop suddenly. She looked and then laughed. He had seen Malfoy and was staring with his mouth wide open. Malfoy had a similar look on his face.

"Malcolm, meet Draco Malfoy," she giggled. "Malfoy, this is Malcolm, my best friend." Her giggles seemed to snap the boys out of their shock. Malcolm laughed and held out his hand to shake. Malfoy didn't move. Malcolm withdrew his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Malcolm said. He squeezed Caroline's shoulder and took a step back.

With a laugh, Caroline hugged Malfoy. He stiffened but hugged her back tentatively.

"I still hate you," she muttered.

"Me too," he answered. "But you're not half bad for a freak."

Caroline laughed. "Thanks, you're not too bad either," she said.

Then she came to Harry, Ron and Hermione. She swept them into a tight hug. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She was never going to see them again.

"I'm going to miss you the most," she whispered.

"Not more than we'll miss you," Hermione said in a tight voice. She was crying too.

"Yeah, what are we going to do without you?" Ron asked. He was trying not to cry, but not managing very well.

Caroline pulled away and threw her arms around Harry. She felt his arms around her, tight. She kissed him fiercely through her tears and he kissed her back. They didn't speak. There were no words needed. Caroline would miss him terribly and she knew that he would miss her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Mackenzie. It was time to go.

She slowly unravelled herself from Harry. It was almost as painful physically as it was mentally, emotionally.

"I'll never forget you," she whispered hoarsely.

"I'll never forget you either."

Caroline backed into the Pentangle, letting Mackenzie's hand guide her, never taking her eyes off Harry.

Chrestomanci sprinkled powder around them. The image of Hogwarts started to blur.

"Goodbye!" Caroline yelled suddenly. "Bye, Ron! Bye, Hermione! Bye, Harry!" Her voice cracked as she said Harry's name. She could see everyone waving. She felt Mackenzie squeeze her shoulder.

Then, it was gone. Caroline looked around. They were in the dining room of the Royal Palace.

"It's all right. We made it," Chrestomanci said.

Caroline stepped out of the Pentangle in a daze. She vaguely heard Chrestomanci say that he had to go. She wandered through the familiar hallways, staring around without really seeing. She couldn't believe that she was back.

She stopped and realized that her feet had taken her to her chambers. She opened the door to her sitting room and the ladies descended upon her.

"Oh you poor thing."

"Look at her, she must be traumatized."

"I'll go run a bath."

"Let's get you out of those awful clothes."

Caroline jerked away as they tugged at her robes.

"I can dress myself, thank you Lady Ingrid," she said firmly. Lady Ingrid was shocked. Caroline had never spoken to any of them like that. They stared at her with their mouths open.

"I am going to go clean up. If I need help, I'll call," Caroline walked past them into her room and shut the door firmly behind her.

The room seemed so big and empty. Her dormitory at Hogwarts was half the size with four girls in it. Caroline looked up. The ceiling was as beautiful as ever. As she stared the clouds seemed to form into the shapes of her friends. The fluffiness was Hermione's curly hair. A wisp was Ron's. And she could swear that that unruly looking cloud was Harry's forever messy hair.

She walked over to the desk and picked up a photo in a frame. It was a gift from some dignitary and so the photo was of a boring landscape. Caroline tossed the photo aside. From her robes, she pulled one of Harry, Ron, Hermione and her. Colin Creevy had taken it and Hermione had helped him enchant it so that the figures moved.

Caroline had her arms around Harry and Hermione and Ron was next to Harry. They jostled and pushed each other and laughed silently. Caroline smiled. She slipped it into the frame. Now it felt a little more like home.

Caroline looked up again. She had moved and her friends had disappeared. But in their place were her mother and father. Caroline gasped and blinked. The image vanished. Caroline blinked back tears.

Then she went to get changed. She had a war to end and a country to fix. And she needed to have a long hard talk with the Prime Minister about who was really running Gower because as miserable as she might have felt before, this was where she belonged.

-The End-