Episode Sixty One

            It was now or never. There were only two days left until the end of the term. Gwen would be traveling over the summer and while in France she would be contacting Madame Maxime. The half-giantess had been working closely with Hagrid for some time, but since Gwen was going to be there Dumbledore didn't think it would hurt to contact her personally via a member of the Order.

            She had spoken briefly with Graves at the end of his last visit and he had accepted everything she had to say with a grace that exemplified his gentlemanly temperament. She had to tell Harry now, before she left. She wouldn't see him again until school started and by then it just wouldn't be appropriate anymore. She pulled him aside in the common room, late in the evening and chit-chatted about whatever until the room cleared out.

"We're the same Harry." She rushed in a hurried whisper.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking at her blankly.

"We're both orphans now. Our parents were killed by death eaters, yours by Lord Voldemort himself. And to top that off we're both near the top of the death eaters' hit list. And we're both very powerful and very young."

He looked at her. What was she getting at? Sometimes he just wished life with Gwen could be simple.

"That's where the similarity ends, Harry." She said quietly. "I'm pretty close to immortal and I don't know how to deal with that just yet. I have fey blood in my veins. It makes me crazy sometimes; I just want to run through the fucking daisies all day long. I just don't know if I can explain this to you."

"Explain what?"

"Harry, it's just not going to work."

His jaw dropped, trying to absorb the shock. "What? Why?"

"I'll be traveling all summer, Harry. And then I'm going to become a teacher, and you'll be one of my students. I'm also thinking about living in the mound in the Forbidden Forest with what's left of my family. And then you'll graduate. You'll move on to other things. Great things and I'm just going to hold you back. I have a lot of things I need to sort out before I can spend the rest of my life with someone."

Jealousy flickered for a brief moment. "What about Graves?"

            "The same goes for him. I'm not choosing one of you over the other. For right now, I'm choosing myself."

            He regarded her for a long time. "So this is it, huh?"

            "For now, Harry. I think it's best."

            He looked as if she'd just broken his will to live. He closed his eyes and pinched his nose, trying to stop the flow of his tear ducts. His breathing was deep and steady, but he was far from calm. He had many other things on his mind, like the whereabouts of his godfather, who was still missing.

            She wanted to comfort him but wasn't aware that she could. Finally he nodded his head, stood and took a very deep breath. "Ok." He said amiably enough. "Friends?"

            "Always." She said, her face crumpling as her own tear ducts refused to obey her.

            He wrapped her in his arms, as he'd down so many times before, except that this time his heart was breaking.