Chapter Twenty: Tearful Good-byes
Fred, George, and Leo met the end of the term with rapture. Not only did Fred and George scrape together a few N.E.W.T.s each, making their mum happy, while Leo's ten O.W.L.s made her a happy camper, the end of the term meant they could celebrate their prank without worry of chastisement. And this is what they did in their compartment on the way to King's Cross Station. Everyone who could possibly squeeze themselves into the small sitting place did, and people kept mulling in and out all afternoon, congratulating the twins and Leo on a job well done. Mid-way through the trip back to London, when everything had settled down and the people who were going to stay stayed, Leo treated the compartment to refreshments from the lady with the cart to show her thanks for their appreciation. Soon, toasts were flying.
"Cheers, to the best pranksters to ever hit Hogwarts!" Lee raised his can of Butterbeer to the crowd of Gryffindors who cramped themselves into the single compartment. Harry, Jazz, Ron, Hermione, and Angelina raised their cans of the brew, "Hear, hear!"
Fred stood up, "Many thanks, you lot. I feel your love, right here," he tapped his heart with his Butterbeer and smiled. "We wouldn't have done these pranks if we thought no one would like them and if we had no one to pull them on. So thanks for being there!"
"And, when we're gone," George stood up, looking around the compartment, "we know that we have five people who will hopefully carry on the tradition. Here's to the new generation!" Everyone except Leo and Jazz raised their classes. Leo just looked at the ground, while Jazz almost started to cry. The group noticed their discomfort right away.
"Only three," said Leo softly, her voice raspy with pent-up emotion. George looked at her questioningly, "What's that, love?"
"We won't be back next year," Jazz choked out. Harry wrapped his arm around her, comforting her as she regained her persona. "Leo just got an owl before we left Hogwarts."
"You're joking!" Harry said, looking into Jazz's eyes, "Please tell me your joking."
Jazz shook her head as Leo went on with the explanation. "You see, this exchange program was only set for one year. Plus, our parents have missed us something horrible and they don't want us to stay overseas for another year. It's back to Phoenixan for us."
"But you can't leave!" protested Harry, mostly for Jazz's benefit. "I can't just not see you again!"
"I'm sorry, Harry," Jazz lightly kissed him, holding him tightly. "Maybe we can visit sometime and we can still owl each other!" Hope rang in her voice faintly.
"Are you staying long before, well, you know?" George asked Leo, hoping to no end that the Lawson's would be staying in London for some time.
"We're leaving as soon as our parents pick us up at the station," Leo said in a small voice, her face contorted in such a way that everyone in the compartment knew she was forcing herself not to cry. "But that's a hour from now you guys!" she said in a false cheery voice. "So let's have it up, shall we? We've got to eat all the sweets before King's Cross!" The group slowing galvanized back into party mode, but Leo's eventual departure from his life was hanging over George's head like a storm cloud.
*****
It was all too soon that the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 and ¾. Steam billowed around the platform as students piled out of their compartments, carrying their trunks and cages and piling them on trolleys. Some parents were already waiting to pick up their children when they all arrived. Thankfully, the Lawson's weren't there yet.
"Leo, can you come here for a second?" George looked at her with pleading eyes. She nodded and followed him to a quiet corner of the platform, noticing her sister having a rather tear-filled farewell with Harry. Leo hoped hers with George wouldn't be. She hated dramatics.
George stopped suddenly, as if he knew where he was going all along, and turned to face his girlfriend. His face was full of pain and it made Leo suffer just looking at it. He ran his hand over the nape of his neck, "I don't know how to say this, or even how to begin to say this."
"How about 'Without you, my life will be a barren wasteland of nothingness and my very breath a wind on the tundra that is my bleak soul'?" Leo suggested, the old devilish gleam in her eyes.
George smiled, which was Leo goal to begin with, and cupped her face with his hand, "Nah, too extreme."
"I thought it was poetic," Leo pouted, but smirked soon after.
"How about," George peered upward, as if pondering what to say, "This year has been one of the happiest of my life solely because of you. You are probably the best thing that has happened to me, and might ever happen to me. However, I do know that I can go on without you, but I also know that I don't want to."
"You know George," Leo said smiling lovingly, tears unwanted filling her eyes, "You could write sappy romance novels if the whole Weasley Wizard Wheezes doesn't work out." She sniffed, tilted her head upward and kissed him on the lips hard, grasping the curly, ginger hair on the nape of his neck. George kissed her back as hard and as passionate as she was kissing him, holding her tightly, never wanting to let go. But as with everything you want to last forever, time always speeds up tremendously.
"Leo! Jazz!" a female voice the two Lawson girls knew all too well rang through the crowded platform. Leo released herself from George's embrace, "That would be my mom."
"So this is good bye," George looked down at her, forcing his mind to remember exactly the way she looked at this very moment.
"No," Leo said, hoisting her bag to her shoulder and taking hold of her trolley. She smiled weakly, "This is see you later. We will see each other sometime in the future. You can count on it." She kissed him one last time, promised to owl new prank inventions to him and then was gone, lost within the sea of people. George faintly made out her parents trying to pry Jazz away from Harry, before he too grabbed his trolley, met up with Fred, Ron, and Ginny, and left the platform to meet his parents. He, too, knew that he'd see Leo again in the future.
Fin
A/N: I finished it! I actually finished a story! Anyway, I hope all of you who have read this story have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I now have an important question for all of you: Should there be a sequel? If so, what about? Thanks to all who've reviewed; you've been a tremendous morale booster and have helped me many a time to get off my lazy ass and write. I love you all!
Fred, George, and Leo met the end of the term with rapture. Not only did Fred and George scrape together a few N.E.W.T.s each, making their mum happy, while Leo's ten O.W.L.s made her a happy camper, the end of the term meant they could celebrate their prank without worry of chastisement. And this is what they did in their compartment on the way to King's Cross Station. Everyone who could possibly squeeze themselves into the small sitting place did, and people kept mulling in and out all afternoon, congratulating the twins and Leo on a job well done. Mid-way through the trip back to London, when everything had settled down and the people who were going to stay stayed, Leo treated the compartment to refreshments from the lady with the cart to show her thanks for their appreciation. Soon, toasts were flying.
"Cheers, to the best pranksters to ever hit Hogwarts!" Lee raised his can of Butterbeer to the crowd of Gryffindors who cramped themselves into the single compartment. Harry, Jazz, Ron, Hermione, and Angelina raised their cans of the brew, "Hear, hear!"
Fred stood up, "Many thanks, you lot. I feel your love, right here," he tapped his heart with his Butterbeer and smiled. "We wouldn't have done these pranks if we thought no one would like them and if we had no one to pull them on. So thanks for being there!"
"And, when we're gone," George stood up, looking around the compartment, "we know that we have five people who will hopefully carry on the tradition. Here's to the new generation!" Everyone except Leo and Jazz raised their classes. Leo just looked at the ground, while Jazz almost started to cry. The group noticed their discomfort right away.
"Only three," said Leo softly, her voice raspy with pent-up emotion. George looked at her questioningly, "What's that, love?"
"We won't be back next year," Jazz choked out. Harry wrapped his arm around her, comforting her as she regained her persona. "Leo just got an owl before we left Hogwarts."
"You're joking!" Harry said, looking into Jazz's eyes, "Please tell me your joking."
Jazz shook her head as Leo went on with the explanation. "You see, this exchange program was only set for one year. Plus, our parents have missed us something horrible and they don't want us to stay overseas for another year. It's back to Phoenixan for us."
"But you can't leave!" protested Harry, mostly for Jazz's benefit. "I can't just not see you again!"
"I'm sorry, Harry," Jazz lightly kissed him, holding him tightly. "Maybe we can visit sometime and we can still owl each other!" Hope rang in her voice faintly.
"Are you staying long before, well, you know?" George asked Leo, hoping to no end that the Lawson's would be staying in London for some time.
"We're leaving as soon as our parents pick us up at the station," Leo said in a small voice, her face contorted in such a way that everyone in the compartment knew she was forcing herself not to cry. "But that's a hour from now you guys!" she said in a false cheery voice. "So let's have it up, shall we? We've got to eat all the sweets before King's Cross!" The group slowing galvanized back into party mode, but Leo's eventual departure from his life was hanging over George's head like a storm cloud.
*****
It was all too soon that the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 and ¾. Steam billowed around the platform as students piled out of their compartments, carrying their trunks and cages and piling them on trolleys. Some parents were already waiting to pick up their children when they all arrived. Thankfully, the Lawson's weren't there yet.
"Leo, can you come here for a second?" George looked at her with pleading eyes. She nodded and followed him to a quiet corner of the platform, noticing her sister having a rather tear-filled farewell with Harry. Leo hoped hers with George wouldn't be. She hated dramatics.
George stopped suddenly, as if he knew where he was going all along, and turned to face his girlfriend. His face was full of pain and it made Leo suffer just looking at it. He ran his hand over the nape of his neck, "I don't know how to say this, or even how to begin to say this."
"How about 'Without you, my life will be a barren wasteland of nothingness and my very breath a wind on the tundra that is my bleak soul'?" Leo suggested, the old devilish gleam in her eyes.
George smiled, which was Leo goal to begin with, and cupped her face with his hand, "Nah, too extreme."
"I thought it was poetic," Leo pouted, but smirked soon after.
"How about," George peered upward, as if pondering what to say, "This year has been one of the happiest of my life solely because of you. You are probably the best thing that has happened to me, and might ever happen to me. However, I do know that I can go on without you, but I also know that I don't want to."
"You know George," Leo said smiling lovingly, tears unwanted filling her eyes, "You could write sappy romance novels if the whole Weasley Wizard Wheezes doesn't work out." She sniffed, tilted her head upward and kissed him on the lips hard, grasping the curly, ginger hair on the nape of his neck. George kissed her back as hard and as passionate as she was kissing him, holding her tightly, never wanting to let go. But as with everything you want to last forever, time always speeds up tremendously.
"Leo! Jazz!" a female voice the two Lawson girls knew all too well rang through the crowded platform. Leo released herself from George's embrace, "That would be my mom."
"So this is good bye," George looked down at her, forcing his mind to remember exactly the way she looked at this very moment.
"No," Leo said, hoisting her bag to her shoulder and taking hold of her trolley. She smiled weakly, "This is see you later. We will see each other sometime in the future. You can count on it." She kissed him one last time, promised to owl new prank inventions to him and then was gone, lost within the sea of people. George faintly made out her parents trying to pry Jazz away from Harry, before he too grabbed his trolley, met up with Fred, Ron, and Ginny, and left the platform to meet his parents. He, too, knew that he'd see Leo again in the future.
Fin
A/N: I finished it! I actually finished a story! Anyway, I hope all of you who have read this story have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I now have an important question for all of you: Should there be a sequel? If so, what about? Thanks to all who've reviewed; you've been a tremendous morale booster and have helped me many a time to get off my lazy ass and write. I love you all!