This is it, mes amis! The final chapter. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. All right, the sequel will be posted Sunday, June 1 under the name of Only the Good Die Young. Happy reading and see you in June. Oh, and if you really get bored, you could read my other story. I trust you know how to get there.
I awoke in a hospital bed, this time alone. I sat, waiting, not knowing what was going on. Soon, a nurse came in with a tray of food for me. "Oh good, you're finally awake," she said, leaving the tray on the bedside table. "I'll go alert Professor Dumbledore." She turned to leave.
"Wait," I called out, "what happened to me?" I couldn't remember anything after Voldemort's spell hitting me. God, it hurt like nothing I had ever felt before in my life.
The woman stopped and turned slowly. Carefully, she said, "Well, the expilerus spell hit your stomach, looking for something to expel. Luckily, there was something there for it to force out," my eyes widened, "your cancer. We had to do some Muggle surgery to get raid of the tumor, but you're cured now. You'll be able to go home soon. I'll go call Dumbledore to come and get you." She stopped again, and added, "If it hadn't been for your bracelet, we would've never known about that cancer." And then, she left.
I sat, stunned by the excellent news. I lifted the cover and peered down the front of my gown. There was a small, pearly white scar on my stomach, to the right of my navel. I pulled the covers down, and then looked again. The scar was still there. I smiled. I was a free woman now, no more potions, no more treatments, I was free.
Except for this bandage on my head. I touched it. It didn't hurt. But when I leaned back to put my head on the wall, pain washed over me. So the cut was on the back of my head. Good to know. I fell asleep anyway.
Dumbledore was there when I woke up, stealing the Jell-O from my food tray. "Hey, that's mine," I teased him. He looked up with a guilty grin on his face.
"Ah, Miss Dobbins, it's good to see you awake again. I assume you've been informed about your situation?" he questioned, putting my dessert down. When I nodded, he continued, "Very good, now let's get you to Hogwarts. The graduation ceremony is tomorrow morning and I'm sure you won't want to miss such an important time in their lives."
I nodded and looked off to the right of the professor. A wheelchair sat in wait. "Do I have to use that?" I asked, indicating the chair. I hated to look weak in front of my friends, in front of Draco.
"I'm afraid so, my dear Jen," he replied, standing to push it closer to me. "Come along, you can sleep in your old room tonight." I finally looked out the window. It was dark, and overcast. Not pretty. It must have been early evening.
I nodded my consent to the wheelchair, standing slowly with Dumbledore's support. I felt weak and powerless, which I guess I was. Voldemort does that to you, no matter what you do.
He wheeled me to a huge fireplace, where we traveled by Floo powder directly to my room. "There is some dry toast on your table. You will stay here tonight. I'll come get you tomorrow morning before the ceremony starts." With that, he left. He was always just leaving like that. I wheeled myself over to my bed, hoisted myself up carefully, and plopped into bed, falling instantly asleep.
A tap on my shoulder woke me up. It was Minerva, come to help me change. I put on my old Muggle clothes, the ones I wore when I first came to Hogwarts. She pushed a piece of toast into my mouth and helped me into my chair. The ceremony was down by the lake, it would take a while to get me down the stairs. Or so I thought. But it seems that Hogwarts had more secrets than I thought.
Just outside the Gryffindor tower is a picture of a bird in a cage that periodically sings. Behind that picture, is an elevator. A Muggle elevator. I was stunned, even if you weren't. It took as right down under the main entrance, to a hallway that lead to a door in the stairs, heading out to the grounds.
A platform had been set up facing away from the lake. Many, many chairs were placed facing it. All the chairs were full already. Minerva wheeled me around to the back, almost hiding me behind a tall couple. My companion walked up to the stage and, after talking to the other professors on the stage already (Dumbledore, Severus, Sprout, and Flitwick), she addressed the crowd. "Welcome to this years graduating class of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she became. The group politely clapped. She talked on for a while, than the students filed out of the entrance hall towards the stage.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Lavender all looked so happy, so proud, even though I could see the worry in their faces. I slunk down in my chair to avoid their gaze.
After the whole class had received their diplomas, Dumbledore came to speak. "Rejoice!" he began, "for the Dark Lord has been defeated." The whole crowd cheered. "I want you to meet the young women who made this wonderful day possible. Even if she is American, she made a choice, between what was right and what was easy. She is charming and a good friend. Jennifer Dobbins!" The group clapped politely.
I didn't want to get up there. But finally, I charged down the center gap. Harry's eyes visibly lit up. Draco smiled this goofy smile, almost matching Ron's. Hermione just laughed. But Severus stood, jumped off the stage and ran towards me, entangling me in an embrace without regard to the confused onlookers.
"God Jen," he whispered softly. Then, suddenly, he pulled away and almost screamed into my face. "Never do that to me again!" And with those wonderful parting words, he collapsed in a pile before my feet.
What a baby, I thought. Couldn't even compose himself to stay conscious. "Stupid git," I heard Ron say as he jumped off the stage. Kneeling with Severus in his arms, he rightly slapped him smartly across the face. I laughed as he did it again, then, since the man never woke up, dropped him on the ground. "I pronounce him incurable."
Dumbledore was laughing also. "As there has been a startling turn of events," he boomed between giggles, "I suggest we move are party to the feast." The crowd seemed to agree, seeing as they all got up and left me, Severus, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Draco alone.
The remaining group jumped off the stage, over Severus, and into my arms. "Oh Jen, we missed you so much!" shrieked Hermione into my ear.
"You missed all the fun stuff of senior year," Harry complained to me, looking into my eyes. His emeralds sparkled brighter than ever.
I giggled at him. "If you learned anything at all from me, Harry, it's that I already had a senior year."
Draco pushed Harry away to look in my eyes. "Jen," he started, "Jenny, Jen, Jen! Oh God Almighty, I missed you." He needed in my arms.
Harry leaned over and lightly touched the bandage on my head. "You never were good at keeping that head of yours from being stuck between a rock and a hard place, were you?" he chuckled. I smiled at him. He was right, of course.
"Come on, let's go inside and have something to eat," I sighed, pushing my wheel towards the school. The five of us pushed on into the Great Hall, leaving Severus behind, convinced that everything would be all right.