Chapter Twenty-Two

"The Hardest Goodbye"

Lizzie took as long as possible getting ready the next morning. She and Hayden had spent as long as they could up in the Astronomy Tower, finally returning to their respective dormitories around six in the morning, Hayden taking a secret passageway up to the seventh floor that helped him avoid detection by Filch and Mrs. Norris.

Both of the knew that this day would come, but that didn't make the idea of saying goodbye any easier on either of them.

As Hayden check and rechecked his trunk he thought of what a year he had, and whether it would have been this good if he had arrived at any other time.

After making absolutely sure he had everything packed, he took out a picture that was taken of him, Jedi, Flicka and Lizzie after their victories at the horse show. They were holding hands and kissing as Jedi affectionately groomed Flicka.

Hayden smiled as he took up a sheet of parchment dipped his quill into it and began to write:

There is a universal truth we all have to face, whether we want to or not. Everything eventually ends. There were moments this year when I waited for this day, and I'm sure you did to. But the truth is, I have always disliked endings. The last days of summer…the final chapter of a great book…parting ways with a close friend.

But endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, you close the book…you say goodbye…..Today is one of those days for both us.

Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar, everything that was comfortable. We're moving on…..

But just because I am leaving, and that hurts…There are some people who are so much a part of us, they'll be with us no matter what. No matter where I go, I will think of you, and you will always be with me. And I know I will always be with you. Distance is no obstacle for the love I have for you.

And if I had to say what the best part of my year at Hogwarts was, I would say it was meeting you.

You were the greatest thing to happen to me, and for that I am forever grateful.

You taught me that being different means you have the courage to be yourself.

I hope you have a great summer, and that we will see each other again soon.

But for now, take the memories we have made together this year and hold them close to your heart.

Because even though this year had its good time and bad, I will never forget the time I spent here, the people I met, the memories I made, but most importantly, I will never forget falling in love with you.

Love Hayden

P.S.

I'm enclosing my mailing address so we can write each other as well as my phone number. If you ever need to talk, for any reason, you can call me anytime, day or night.

Hayden read and reread the letter multiple times. After a moment, he nodded. He felt he had written what he wanted to say as he put it into an envelope and sealed it with wax before putting it into the inner pocket of his robes before exiting the Room of Requirement.

Lizzie almost at the same time, was checking and rechecking her own belongings. Everything was in order and ready to go, but she wasn't.

When term first began, if someone had told her that she would end up falling in love with Hayden and he would fall in love with her too, she would have laughed in their faces and called them a liar.

Before this year, Lizzie was still very self-conscious over being autistic and would mask heavily, causing her tremendous burnout and distress.

Then Hayden came into her life, not only at a time when she really needed a friend and someone to lean on, but he had saved her life in a multitude of ways, and encouraged her take off her mask and be her true self. No words could describe how wonderful that made her feel and how grateful she was.

Now as she walked around the castle one final time before leaving with everyone else to catch the Hogwarts Express, she realized how much of this year and the time she had spent with Hayden that she had taken for granted. Despite agreeing to take a leap of faith at trying to make their relationship work long-distance, Lizzie was not optimistic. Many of her friends didn't think it would work out either, and had tried convincing her to break it off with Hayden and just look at it like a fling that was really great, but it was never meant to last. Something that Lizzie absolutely refused to settle for.

Too many coincidences had happened between the two of them that year. What were the odds that both their wands, made by two different wandmakers in two different countries would end up having twin cores? Or that Professor Trelawney would predict Hayden saving Lizzie's life in the Forbidden Forest? Whether any of Lizzie's friends wanted to admit it or not, Lizzie knew that Hayden coming to Hogwarts this year was no happy accident. It felt like it was meant to be and that they were meant to be.

But if that were true, why would fate rip them apart just as quickly as it had brought them together?

Tears struggled against her eyes as she continued to walk down each corridor, one by one, each classroom, bringing back a memory from that year. She looked out a window to the Black Lake and reminisced about figure skating with Hayden….

Hayden walked along the corridor outside the Room of Requirement, taking his time as he went. Now he was really kicking himself for not applying for another year at Hogwarts. But on the other hand, he would have had no way of knowing that he would fall in love with Lizzie when term first started. And yet, he had the chance to reapply over Christmas when he was beginning to develop feelings for Lizzie, and he missed that chance too.

The best way they decided that they could make a long-distance relationship work, was to stay in contact as best as they could and visit each other whenever possible; either Lizzie visited him in Canada, or Hayden come to England to visit her.

It was the best solution that either of them could come up with because neither of them was willing to break up with one another. As Hayden had said in his letter to Lizzie; Distance was no obstacle.

And even though there was no guarantee that it would work, both of them were willing to try, and hope for the best.

As Hayden walked, he thought about everything they had gone through together over the course of the year; setting eyes on her at the Start-of-Term feast and feeling an instant attraction her…..discovering her self harm and her opening up about what happened to Raven…..giving Lizzie her first riding lesson on Flicka…the figure skating show and how much fun he had learning from her….nearly kissing her under the mistletoe at Christmas, then again on Valentine's Day in Hogsmeade…..saving her life in the Forbidden Forest, nearly losing her forever…..Their first date, and their first kiss. The battle at the Department of Mysteries…Professor Trelawney's prediction and the twin cores in both their wands…..

He sighed heavily, leaning against a wall. Even though he had already decided to go back to Toronto to finish school, he was beginning to second guess his decision now. Everything in him was screaming at him to stay with Lizzie and not to leave her behind. They had been through too much together! He couldn't just leave her!

Now he was able to understand how even the easiest of decisions was hard for Lizzie. Should he sacrifice his relationship with the woman he loved for his education, or sacrifice his education for the woman he loved?

It was, quite possibly, the most difficult decision that Hayden had to make in his entire seventeen years of life. And there was a part of him that was afraid that whatever decision he made, it would somehow be the wrong on.

He loved Lizzie, but ultimately, he did also value his education, and was determined to graduate, as was Lizzie. And they had already decided on how to sustain their relationship. So why was the idea of having to say goodbye so hard?

Hayden had foolishly convinced himself that saying goodbye to Lizzie was going to be as simple as a hug, a kiss, and a farewell. But now, he only realized how stupid it was to think that, because he was now dreading saying those words so much that it made him feel physically sick. It was the last thing he wanted to do, and yet he knew that he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Prolonging the inevitable was useless now.

Sighing heavily, Hayden walked away from the wall, and began making his way down the corridor to the entrance hall.

The entire hall was crowded with students making their way out onto the courtyard and down the path toward where the thestral drawn carriages stood, a flood of black and navy blue robes, many of whom were hugging each other and saying goodbye. But as Hayden looked around, he couldn't find Lizzie anywhere. There was no metallic sound of her walker and he couldn't spot her flaming dark red hair in the crowd.

He wondered if she was still up in her dormitory packing.

Hayden touched the Medal for Magical Merit pinned to his robes, thinking of Lizzie. This was his last chance to talk to her before he left Hogwarts, but as he made his way out of the large oak front doors into the courtyard, there was still no sign of her.

Hagrid was loading Jedi into a trailer with shafts, in between which stood a thestral. Jedi was snorting anxiously and pawing at the cobblestone ground. "Easy, Jedi, it's okay," said Hagrid soothingly as he led him into the trailer. Jedi walked in obediently as Hagrid slammed the door and latched it shut. "He's a good horse," said Hagrid. Hayden smiled. "I think he misses Flicka already," said Hagrid. "I think so," said Hayden. Looks like he wasn't the only one being forced to say goodbye to someone he loved….

Then as he gazed around at the flood of students and professors saying their goodbyes, and at the magnificent castle that he had called home for the past year, the song Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver popped into his head as he thought of the lyrics.

All my bags are packed,

I'm ready to go,

I'm standin' here outside your door,

I hate to wake you up

To say goodbye

But the dawn is breaking

It's early morn

The taxi's waiting

He's blowing his horn

Already I'm so lonesome I could die.

So kiss me and smile for me

Tell me you'll wait for me

Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane

Don't know when I'll be back again.

Oh, babe, I hate to go...

"You just missed her," said a sad voice as Hayden turned to see Molly Cobb standing a few feet behind him, looking somber. "Lizzie. I saw her get into a carriage with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They're heading for Hogsmeade to catch the train."

Hayden's heart sank. He had lost his chance to say goodbye….He couldn't believe it. If he hadn't wasted his time walking around…

"What time does the train leave?" asked Hayden. "Eleven o' clock," said Molly. Hayden gazed at his watch and received a shock. It was ten fifty-five. He had only five minutes to get there, find her and say goodbye.

"If you run like hell, you can make it in time," said Molly, her tone becoming suddenly urgent. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

Hayden didn't need telling twice as he turned and ran as fast as he could down the path, through the front gates with winged boars and down the road towards Hogsmeade Station.

Lizzie bustled through the crowd of students hurrying to load their luggage onto the train, desperately searching for Hayden. He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, she thought miserably as Harry helped her load her walker onto the train. Steam billowed from the train, as people began to clamber on board. And still there was no sign of Hayden. He could see Harry loading his owl Hedwig onto the train along with his trunk with Hermione who was carrying Crookshanks.

Hayden weaved in and out of the crowd of people, staring down at his watch. Two minutes to go. He had to find her now. If he didn't…

Then as if by magic, he saw someone with vivid dark red hair approach him, and as the crowd thinned out he was able to see that it was Lizzie. He had found her at last.

Hayden gazed at his watch again. One minute. He had sixty seconds to say goodbye to her.

Not wanting to waste another minute, Hayden walked right up to her, still breathing heavily, but looking enormously relieved.

"I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to – I mean, I thought you'd already…" "Me too," said Lizzie as a whistle sounded. "Lizzie! What are you doing?" said Hermione. "Come on! It's about to go!" "Yeah, just give me a minute!" said Lizzie, not looking in Hermione's direction.

Lizzie sighed heavily.

"Lizzie…"

"Hayden….."

They had said each other's names at the same time. "You first," said Hayden. "No, you," said Lizzie. "Okay," said Hayden, he looked down at his shoes before responding. "It's stupid – I convinced myself that saying goodbye was going to be easy, and I only realize now how unrealistic that was because this…..this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do…"

"Lizzie! Come on!" said Hermione, sounding both urgent and somewhat angry.

"Deciding to come here was the best decision I could have ever made," said Hayden, not noticing that the last few people on the platform were boarding the train. "It brought me to you." Lizzie smiled, even though his words and the reality that they were being separated just as quickly as they were brought together was tugging relentlessly at her heartstrings.

Hayden smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope containing his letter, contact information, and the photograph of them at the horse show. "Here," he said, handing it to her as she took it. "Does your computer have a camera on it?" "Yeah," said Lizzie. "Then let's try and video chat at least two or three times a week," said Hayden.

"Okay," said Lizzie. Their plans to stay in contact sounded like they could make it work long distance, but it was no substitution for being face to face with one another.

Lizzie felt her eyes sting with tears as she gazed up at him. "I don't want you to…..I mean, I wish that we could just….."

"I know," said Hayden taking a step closer to her, as he held her face in his hand as he kissed her passionately.

"Lizzie!" groaned Hermione as the final whistle blew and guards were walking along the train, slamming the door shut. "You'd better go," said Hayden. "I don't want…" Lizzie protested. "I know," Hayden repeated. "But you have to….

Lizzie nodded as she turned and started to walk away. She was almost to the open door of the train when she heard Hayden call her back. "Hey, Lizzie!" he called as Lizzie turned and faced him, smiling hopefully. "May the Force be with you," said Hayden, winking at her.

Without even thinking, Lizzie turned around and ran back to Hayden as she leapt into his arms, kissing him.

Hayden held her tighter than he ever had, kissing her back, not wanting to let her go.

Suddenly, Lizzie felt something grab her as she broke apart from Hayden and was dragged back to the train by Hermione, and was forced to jump as the train began to move, the door slamming shut in her face.

Lizzie went over to a window as Hayden was jogging along with the train, holding out his hand for hers. She managed to take it, not wanting to let go, but as the train picked up speed, she slowly began to lose her grip on Hayden's hand, one finger at a time until she had no choice but to let go.

Hayden fell back as he stopped running, waving, and blowing kisses at her. Lizzie kept her eyes fixed on him until the train turned a corner, and Hayden disappeared from view.

"Come on, then," said Hermione. "Let's go find a compartment before they all fill up….." Lizzie would have given anything to tell her to go on ahead and find a compartment all to herself. All she wanted right now was to be left alone.

She knew in her heart that she would eventually have to leave Hayden behind. But never did she think it was going to be this devastating. Sure, her relationship with him was still intact and they were still going to see each other – it would just be less than they did this year. But that didn't lessen the horrible aching feeling in her heart. It was worse than physical pain, and she didn't know how to stop it.

It was only when she sat down in a compartment with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny, that everyone noticed the look on her face. "What's up, Liz?" asked Neville as he stroked his Mimbulus mimbletonia, which had grown a great deal over the year, and now made an odd crooning noise when touched. "You look as if…..someone died." Lizzie said nothing and continued to gaze out the window, tears pouring silently down her face.

Ginny smiled sympathetically. "Hayden?" she asked. Lizzie nodded, still staring out the window. "Whenever any of us would talk with him, he would always talk about you," said Ginny. Lizzie tore her eyes away from the window and stared at her. "Really?" she asked. "Yeah," said Ginny. "You'll see him again," said Hermione, in what Lizzie knew was an attempt at being helpful, but wasn't. "When?" asked Lizzie. Everyone in the compartment fell silent as Lizzie returned to gazing out the window.

An hour later, the lunch trolley came through. "Do you want anything?" asked Hermione, standing up from her seat. "Not hungry," mumbled Lizzie. Then she felt something in her pocket as she pulled out an envelope with Hayden's handwriting on it. Slowly she broke the wax seal and opened the envelope. Two pieces of parchment and a photograph fell out of the envelope, landing on the seat beside her and onto the floor at her feet. Lizzie picked them up, and unfolded the first piece of parchment and read:

There is a universal truth we all have to face, whether we want to or not. Everything eventually ends. There were moments this year when I waited for this day, and I'm sure you did to. But the truth is, I have always disliked endings. The last days of summer…the final chapter of a great book…parting ways with a close friend.

But endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, you close the book…you say goodbye…..Today is one of those days for both us.

Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar, everything that was comfortable. We're moving on…..

But just because I am leaving, and that hurts…There are some people who are so much a part of us, they'll be with us no matter what. No matter where I go, I will think of you, and you will always be with me. And I know I will always be with you. Distance is no obstacle for the love I have for you.

And if I had to say what the best part of my year at Hogwarts was, I would say it was meeting you.

You were the greatest thing to happen to me, and for that I am forever grateful.

You taught me that being different means you have the courage to be yourself.

I hope you have a great summer, and that we will see each other again soon.

But for now, take the memories we have made together this year and hold them close to your heart.

Because even though this year had its good time and bad, I will never forget the time I spent here, the people I met, the memories I made, but most importantly, I will never forget falling in love with you.

Love Hayden

P.S.

I'm enclosing my mailing address so we can write each other. If you ever need to talk, for any reason, you can call me anytime, day or night.

Lizzie felt fresh tears escape her eyes as she read this letter. 'Distance is no obstacle for the love I have for you' – Lizzie felt the ache in her heart lessen a bit as she reread these words. It didn't matter to Hayden if they were ten minutes, ten hours or ten miles apart – he would never stop loving her.

She looked down as the seat next to her and saw another folded piece of parchment. As she unfolded it, she saw a telephone number (Lizzie could tell by the area code that it was a Toronto phone number), mailing address and email – every possible way she could keep in contact with him. Then with a huge pang of regret she realized that she hadn't given Hayden her contact information…

The others had come back from outside the corridor where they had bought large piles of Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. Hermione was reading the Daily Prophet again. "You and Hayden are in here," she said, turning the page inside out and handing it to Lizzie. "It's about the horse show…."

Indeed there was a little article about the horse show, and by Daily Prophet standards, it was very complimentary to both of them. The article showed a picture of them both cantering around the arena…

"A lot of people were impressed with you that day," said Hermione. "Yeah," said Lizzie, gazing down at the byline. The name Rena Crabapple stood out to her. "Hey, it's that journalist that wrote the review for skating program that Hayden and I did – she wrote this!"

She felt relieved that it hadn't been written by Rita Skeeter. But on the other hand, Rita, would have written something less flattering, if it had been her.

"Hey, Lizzie, did you drop this?" asked Neville, leaning down to pick up a square bit of paper and handing it to Lizzie. She took it, and looked at it. For the first time in the entire journey, Lizzie actually smiled.

It was a picture of Hayden and Lizzie atop Jedi and Flicka at the end of the horse show, holding each other's hands high above their heads, then leaning over to kiss each other while Jedi and Flicka affectionately groomed one another.

"What is it, Lizzie?" asked Hermione. Lizzie passed the photograph around for everyone to see. Ron grimaced as he watched Lizzie and Hayden kiss. "I know, we're disgusting," said Lizzie laughing as she reached under the neck of her shirt, and withdrew her figure skate pendant.

"He had it engraved for me," she said fondly. "With what?" asked Hermione. "Our initials, and the date of our figure skating show," said Lizzie, handing Hermione back the Daily Prophet to Hermione, who continued to read.

Lizzie whiled away most of the journey writing down her feelings in her journal, while Hermione read out snippets from the paper. It was now full of articles about how to repel dementor, attempts by the Ministry to track down Death Eaters, and hysterical letters claiming that the writer had seen Lord Voldemort walking past their house that very morning…

"Oh, my God!" Hermione gasped suddenly. "What?" asked Lizzie, looking up from her journal, her quill suspended an inch or so above the parchment as a large drop of ink fell from the tip on to the paper.

"Listen to this!" said Hermione rustling the paper. " 'Dolores Jane Umbridge, former headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts is under investigation for the attempted murder of Hogwarts student, Miss Elizabeth Brooks…' "

"Shut up!" shouted Lizzie through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasty, as she sprayed crumbs and spit all over as she blushed furiously. Hermione handed her the paper as Lizzie brushed off a few crumbs and read on:

'Dolores Umbridge was taken in for questioning late last night after the Ministry of Magic was informed by Ewan McKinnon of the Order of the Phoenix that Miss Umbridge had attempted to kill Miss Brooks using a curse of her own creation, causing appendicitis in its victim and later, sepsis and septic shock. Miss Brooks spent a month in the hospital wing at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, recovering just in time to take her Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations and participate in the annual horse show.

Mr. McKinnon was informed by Mr. Hayden Chamberlain of the Toronto Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry that Miss Umbridge had made several attempts to get Lizzie expelled, including unethical inspections of Miss Brooks, riding lessons, fabricating her results, and filing an educational decree expelling any student with a learning difference or intellectual disability…'

"Hayden blew the whistle on Umbridge?" asked Lizzie. "I'm not shocked," said Harry. "He hated that old toad as much as the rest of us did!" "Keep reading, Hermione!" said Lizzie eagerly as Hermione read on.

'Miss Umbridge so far has denied any of these accusations and has insisted that these are nothing but lies and misinformation meant to discredit the 'wonderful improvements' she made to the school.

Under heavier questioning however, Miss Umbridge has since admitted that she did indeed file the above educational decree, and eventually admitted in her attempt to kill Miss Brooks, stating "I don't know why people with her deficits are even allowed to exist!"

"That's almost word-for-word what she said to Hayden!" said Lizzie. "Listen!" said Hermione as she read on:

As of now, the Order of the Phoenix and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement are looking into having charges of attempted murder brought against Miss Umbridge and her actions are now being looked at as a hate crime.

"Well, there you have it, Liz!" said Ron thickly, through a large mouthful of Cauldron Cake. "She won't get away with what she did to you!" "I can't believe Hayden did that," said Lizzie. "He never told me," "Maybe he didn't have the time, or he just got sidetracked with everything else or…." Hermione's voice trailed off as she buried her face in the paper once more and there was silence within the compartment.

In the few minutes that Lizzie was able to smile and laugh, her thoughts were back to Hayden again, and the feeling of missing him, and craving the feeling of his lips on hers intensified.

Until this year, Lizzie never had a boyfriend. Sure, Cedric had been very kind and generous toward her and she might have harbored a crush on him, but nothing more than that. Now that she got to thinking about it, in a very weird way, Cedric dying almost felt like a message from God. Almost as if He was saying, 'he's not the one. I have someone else planned for you…..'

But it also felt like was overthinking this. Hermione would tell her that not everything has a reason behind it. Sometimes things just happen.

And as much as Lizzie disagreed with Hermione on a lot of things, what if she was right this time?

What if Cedric's death was just that, a death that happened due to him being in the wrong place at the wrong time? And her meeting Hayden was simply a case of the two of them being in the right place at the right time?

"What else is in there?" asked Lizzie to Hermione, whose face was still hidden behind the paper. "It hasn't really started yet," said Hermione, meaning that the Wizarding world had finally come to their senses when it came to Lord Voldemort's return as she folded up the paper. "But it won't be long now….."

"Hey, Lizzie," said Ron, pointing toward the glass window onto the corridor. Lavender was passing accompanied as usual by Parvati. The both of them saw Lizzie and smiled, waving eagerly at her. Lizzie smiled back, but only halfheartedly as they kept walking. She stared down at her open journal still sitting on her lap.

"Everything going – er – okay with you three?" Ron asked quietly. "Yeah," said Lizzie, shrugging. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's just – they haven't treated you very well this year, have they?" asked Hermione. "That was before they knew the truth about what happened to Raven," said Lizzie, taking up her quill again. "But – all that stuff they said about you and Hayden!" said Hermione. "It was good old fashioned jealousy," said Lizzie simply. "In the end, they both said that Hayden and I…made a really good couple, and that they were happy for us."

"That's nice of them," said Ginny. "Mm," said Lizzie. "Remember how they used to fight over Hayden during D.A. meetings?" Hermione giggled. "The look on his face!" laughed Lizzie. "Remember when he Stunned Zacharias Smith?" asked Ron, reminiscently. "Or when he used the Langlock Curse to Force Choke him?" asked Lizzie. "Force what?" asked Ron. "Nothing," said Lizzie, smiling at Ron like he was missing a private joke.

As the train slowed down in the approach to King's Cross, and even thought she had some good laughs, her heart still ached at the idea that come the first of September, she would board the train again, but Hayden would not be joining her.

Even though this year had started out horrible, Hayden had been the one to make it at the very least tolerable and even enjoyable in many ways.

When the train finally puffed to a standstill, she put her journal back in her trunk as she lifted it and her walker down, preparing to drag them both from the train like normal.

When the ticket inspector signaled to her, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, she was greeted by her mother and Tara, who were anxiously waiting for her.

"Lizzie!" called Emma, waving at her as she approached. "Good term?" Lizzie shrugged. "What is it, dear?" asked Emma. A moment later she understood. "Hayden?" she said kindly. Lizzie nodded. "He went back to Toronto this morning," said Lizzie, struggling not to cry. "Oh, Lizzie," said Emma, hugging Lizzie close.

After helping Lizzie load her trunk onto a trolley, they wheeled it out into the parking lot where a black gleaming limousine stood parked and waiting with Nigel opening the door for Lizzie. "Thanks, Nigel," said Lizzie. "Good term?" he asked, tipping his hat to her. "Too good to last in many ways," said Lizzie as she clambered inside.

As they pulled out of the parking lot Lizzie didn't say much for the remainder of the journey. Her mind flashed back to when she had gone home for Christmas last term and Hayden turned up the day after she did, surprising her, and she had best three weeks of her life.

It felt strange as she walked through her front doors, ten minutes later, knowing that Hayden was most likely back in Toronto by now.

She turned left into the library, thinking about all the memories she made with Hayden in this room. Her eyes wandered to the grand piano as she ran her hand across it, remembering how they had sung Christmas carols together, then the chairs in front of the fireplace, where Hayden had almost kissed her, and the portrait of her house that had been mounted near the bay window. It was stuck back on the wall again.

She walked out of the library and up the stairs to her room. The carpet smelled of shampoo, and Lizzie speculated that Tara had washed it that afternoon. She pushed down the gold lever on the Camelot style door handle to her room and pushed it open.

Nothing had changed in this room since she was last in it, apart from the absence of any holiday decorations. The sun was beginning to set outside her window, filling the room with a pleasant orange glow.

Her trunk had already been brought up, as Lizzie looked on her vanity table, and saw a copy of the Daily Prophet. Curiously, she looked at the date and recognized it as the copy that Hayden gave her with the article about their figure skating show.

Opening a drawer in her vanity she took out a pair of metal scissors and a glue stick between her index and forefinger as she sat down on her bed and began to carefully cut out the article, before going over to a bookshelf and taking from it, an old worn leather-bound scrapbook, in which she had pasted many things over the years; her Hogwarts acceptance letter, her school letters and booklists from the past five years, a program from her father's funeral, her autism assessment results over the years, denying her a diagnosis, and letter by Madame Pomfrey, officially diagnosing her, an essay she wrote in her third year about 'overcoming obstacles', and many other personal photos and papers…..

When she came to a blank page, she applied glue to the back of the article and to the page itself, before gently pressing the newspaper clipping to the page of the book.

Even thought she was back in the Muggle world, the picture on the article still moved; Hayden and Lizzie holding hands while doing a backward crossover, then simultaneously performing stunning triple Axels. Lizzie smiled to herself as she remembered when they were practicing, and she watched Hayden achieve the Holy Grail of rotation jumps: A quadruple Axel.

Lizzie had heard of figure skaters just beginning to achieve this jump, but she hadn't seen it being done until Hayden did it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking on the door. "Um, come in!" said Lizzie, closing and setting aside her scrapbook. Tara came in with a tray bearing a bowl, spoon, and some bread. "I made you some soup," she said. "Thanks, but I'm not very hungry," said Lizzie sadly. "Well, in case you change your mind," said Tara, setting the tray down on Lizzie's vanity and walking over to sit down next to her.

"You doing okay, love?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Lizzie's shoulder, and hugging her. "Yes," said Lizzie. Tara smiled gently at her. "No," said Lizzie, smiling back. "But I'll be okay."

Tara nodded. "Putting something in your scrapbook?" she asked. "Mm-hmm," said Lizzie as she opened it to show Tara the article about their figure skating show. "That's very nice of someone to write that," she said. "Do you remember when the two of you had a flour war when you were making biscuits?" asked Tara.

Lizzie frowned. "You came in afterward, when we finished cleaning!" she said. "It didn't long for me to guess what the two of you had been up to when I was gone," said Tara, smiling. "You hadn't washed your face and still had flour around your eyes." "Oh, my God!" groaned Lizzie as she began to laugh. "Well," said Tara, getting up. "I'll leave you to finish unpacking." "Okay, thanks for the soup," said Lizzie. "Your medication is there too," said Tara. "You're the best," said Lizzie, smiling. Tara smiled as she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

When she had gone, Lizzie got up and slowly began unpacking her trunk, Her new Jackson Elle's with orange hard and soft guards were at the bottom. I should get these heat molded next time I'm at the rink, Lizzie thought as she carefully placed them on a shelf inside her wardrobe.

She smiled as she unfolded her two skating dresses that she had bought for the show, putting them on hangers and placing them inside her wardrobe.

Now looking back on it, she realized that they could have made it better in a lot of ways but didn't have the time.

She put her riding and her show clothes on hangers along with her skating dresses and pants.

She was just beginning to unpack her pajamas when she heard a ringing sound come from a drawer in her vanity.

Closing the lid of her trunk, she walked over to her vanity, opening the drawer below the table and taking out her silver MacBook Pro, and opening it and her heart skipped a beat. A notification bar on the top right corner showed that it was a video call from Hayden.

Excitedly, Lizzie moved her finger across the trackpad and clicked on the green Accept button as Hayden's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Liz," he said. "Ohh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you!" said Lizzie, feeling tears sting her eyes. "You miss me already, eh?" he asked, smiling. "Don't you? Miss me?" asked Lizzie. "Of course I do," said Hayden. "Been thinking about you all day." Lizzie noticed there were hockey trophies in the background and a poster with the words Toronto Maple Leafs.

"How did you get home, anyway?" asked Lizzie. "Apparition?" "Oh, no," said Hayden. "Even though I can Apparate now, that's still considered underage magic."

"Right, and you can't use magic outside school until you're eighteen," said Lizzie. "Lucky for you, you only have one more year," said Hayden with a hint of jealousy in his voice. "I do my Apparition test next year too," said Lizzie. "That'll be exciting," said Hayden. "I hope you get it," "Me too," said Lizzie. "We'll see how it goes. So, how did you get home? Broomstick?"

"No, Portkey, actually," said Hayden. "Oh!" said Lizzie. "Yeah, after the Hogwarts Express left, I met up with the rest of my classmates just outside Hogsmeade, and we left in groups of five," said Hayden. "Looks likes you got back okay," said Lizzie. "Finished unpacking yet?" asked Hayden. "Not quite,' said Lizzie, smiling.

Her eyes wandered to the Daily Prophet that she had cut the review for their ice performance out of, and thought about what she had read on the train. "Did you see the Daily Prophet this morning?" asked Lizzie. Hayden frowned. "No," he said. "What did it say?"

Lizzie told him about how Umbridge had been questioned by the Ministry after someone blew the whistle on the fact that she had attempted to kill Lizzie and confessed to doing so.

"Was that you?" asked Lizzie. "I mean, the article said…." "Yeah, that was me," said Hayden "I just wasn't sure…..thought they might have gotten their source wrong, because, well, it wouldn't be the first time," said Lizzie. "After we met with Dumbledore after what happened in the Department of Mysteries, I told both him and Ewan about everything that Umbridge did, to the school, and to you personally. I was afraid they weren't going to take me seriously," said Hayden. "But they did take you seriously?" asked Lizzie.

"Yeah, thankfully," said Hayden. "But he did warn me that he couldn't promise me anything, because how high up in the Ministry Umbridge is. She might have connections to get off of any charges."

"Guess we'll just have to keep praying then, won't we?" asked Lizzie. "Yep," said Hayden.

They talked for several more hours until it was dark outside Lizzie's window. Her eyes ached with tiredness, but she didn't want to stop talking to him.

Finally, there was a knock at the door, and Emma poked her head inside. "Lizzie, it's time for bed," she said. "Mum," Lizzie whined. "Five more minutes?"

Hayden laughed. "Oh, is that Hayden?" asked Emma as Lizzie turned her computer around in her hands. "Hello, Hayden," she said. "Hi," said Hayden. "Looks like you made it home okay!" said Emma brightly. "Yep!" said Hayden, smiling. "Glad to hear it. Now, Lizzie, say goodnight to Hayden, and go to bed," said Emma firmly to Lizzie. Lizzie's eyes were doleful and pleading as she protruded her lower lip imploringly. "Now," said Emma firmly as Lizzie sighed. "Fine," she said as Emma turned and started to walk out of the room. "Take you tablets too, don't forget!" she said as she gently shut the door.

After she had gone, Lizzie smiled at Hayden. "I guess I'd better go," she said. "I'll call you tomorrow," said Hayden, smiling. "I love you, Lizzie."

Lizzie smiled back, "I love you too, so much," she said. "Goodnight," said Hayden. Lizzie blew him a kiss, and from the other side of the camera, Hayden reached up and caught it. "Sweet dreams," "Thanks," said Lizzie as she gave him one more kiss goodnight before clicking the red circular hang up icon and Hayden's face vanished from her screen.

As Lizzie put her computer away, it seemed so amazing that only that morning she woke up feeling horrible, and now after just having a video conversation with Hayden, her mood had improved drastically, and she had a phone call to look forward to from him tomorrow…

She finished brushing her teeth in the bathroom and took her medication before removing the decorative pillows on her bed, turning down the blankets and climbed into bed.

The moon was still full, as Lizzie looked out at it, remembering her last night at Hogwarts with him, how they had lied out under the stars together talking and kissing….

Maybe she would talk with her mom tomorrow about letting Hayden stay for the summer.

Smiling, Lizzie closed her eyes and fell asleep almost at once, thinking of Hayden and all the memories they had made that year. Maybe, even with Umbridge, and everything she had done, this year hadn't turned out to be so bad after all.