Chapter 44 – The Awakening

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Sirius slipped into an uneasy sleep at Maria's bedside. He slumped in his chair, head resting on the side of the bed, his hand over her chest. Through his sleep, he could feel her weak heartbeat. It had been growing steadily stronger as days went by. Now, there was only one day left of term – tomorrow (today, rather) was the End-of-Term feast.

Restless thought fluttered through Sirius's mind as he slept. 'What if she never wakes up? What will I do…? Maria…Maria…'

"She won't wake up. She'll never wake up. Why do you trust her so, Sirius? Just let her die already…"

Sirius shook his head, murmuring. 'Dream, I'm…dreaming…'

Sirius stood at the edge of the lake, watching once more as Voldemort aimed the Killing Curse at Maria. He was powerless to do anything, and then…time stopped.

Maria turned to him and smiled. "I'm going to die for you, Sirius."

The curse hit, and he watched as she fell.

-

Maria opened her eyes, her voice ceasing to sing. She yawned, stretching out her muscles. "…where am I? Oh, boy, I woke up in the poppy field."

It seemed that she was in a small meadow. To her right was a stream, a large tree on its bank. The grass was very green, too green, in fact. "What am I doing here? I'm supposed to be fighting Voldemort!"

"Voldemort is gone, Maria."

"? Who's there?" Maria whipped her head around, searching.

"He fled when he thought he killed you."

Something clicked in Maria's head. "Jenna…?"

"Yes." Jenna stepped out from behind the tree, smiling at Maria. Her blond hair hung in ringlets, and her grey-blue eyes were dancing.

"Jenna!" Maria ran to her friend, throwing her arms around her…and falling flat on her face. "…what?"

Jenna looked sad. "Maria, you're not dead. You can't touch me."

Maria frowned.

"So, how long have you been asleep?" Jenna bent down and picked a daisy.

Maria watched her. "I don't know. A few days, maybe."

"Mmm. I wonder why you haven't gone back yet. You must have got hit hard."

"What are you talking about?"

Jenna tilted her head. "You were hit with the Killing Curse."

"What? But – you said I'm not dead!"

"Oh, don't get me wrong – you're not. You see, you must have held up your Pendant. It blocked a lot of the curse, but you still took some of it. You were put into an enchanted sleep by Rowena Ravenclaw. The sleep mimics death, while really restoring your health."

"How do you know all this?"

Jenna shrugged. "It gets a bit boring here."

Maria nodded slowly. "I see…Jen, where's Troy?"

"He already went on. He said…he said he couldn't bear to see you guys, knowing he couldn't be with you."

"?"

"We know all that goes on, Maria. We're in the Afterlife. I can watch you guys, and see how you're doing. I saw what happened during the fight."

"Oh…" Maria said. She twirled around in a little circle. "Say, Jenna, how do I get back?"

"Oh, I dunno."

"WHAT?"

"Okay, okay, calm down! I was kidding!" Jenna sounded wistful. "It gets lonely here, you know."

Maria shrugged, nodding. "Okay…"

"Close your eyes. This might hurt."

"Wha – "

WHAM!

Everything went black.

-

Sirius was still in a light sleep when he felt Maria start to rustle her sheets. He opened his eyes and saw her sitting up slowly.

"MARIA!" he squealed, throwing himself on her.

"What – ahhh!" Maria fell back on her bed as Sirius smothered her in kisses.

"Oh" kiss "I'm so glad" kiss "you're alright" kiss "I was so worried" kiss "that you weren't" kiss "gonna make it!" kisskisskiss.

Maria laughed. "Sirius, Siri, please! I'm okay!" She gently pushed him back, smiling. "So...what time is it?"

"After midnight. Maybe even around three. Wait here, let me go get the Headmaster." Sirius took off.

Maria smiled, trying to rouse James with her thoughts. "James…I'm awake."

"Hmmmm…what? Oh, Maria? Really?"

"Yeah. Wake the others."

"We'll be there in a minute!"

Maria fluffed her pillows and laid back.

-

Dumbledore called Madame Pomfrey in to check Maria over one last time. The nurse announced that she would be just fine, and then went off muttering about reckless children.

Noel, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus took turns hugging Maria…well, they tried, until Remus wouldn't let go. So Sirius just had to hit him with a pillow, and that of course started an all-out Marauder pillow fight. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Mark, and Trista stood off to the side to watch.

"So she made a full recovery, Headmaster?" Mark asked quietly.

"So it would seem," Dumbledore replied. "I am quite surprised. Most people would have been sick for weeks on end after that. But then, Maria is remarkably like Rowena. After all, she looks just like her."

Mark nodded. "We were so surprised…she could have been Rowena's twin."

Dumbledore nodded. "There is one thing, however…"

The adults listened intently.

"I am not sure how Maria came to be in that meadow. She should have been asleep. I do not know if that really was Miss Carlson she saw, or not. I…believe we should keep a watch over her."

Minerva frowned. "I do not understand, Headmaster."

"You won't. None of us will. We just have to wait."

The Marauders' playful screams were dampened by the gloom of the adults.

-

"…and so we come to the end of another year. I have to admit, I had some doubts about our making it through the rest of the year together. But everyone injured made a full recovery. I am especially glad to announce that Miss Maria Ravenwood has indeed made a full recovery."

There was scattered applause from the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables. The Slytherins were looking at her as if they'd rather she'd died.

"So, without further ado, the House Cup! Recent points have been awarded to Maria, along with James and Noel Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Lily Evans. So…it seems that Gryffindor has won the House Cup! Congratulations to them! Please, now, enjoy this last feast!"

Dumbledore sat down. Remus hugged Maria as, around them, all Gryffindors laughed and celebrated. Over at the Slytherin table, Lucius Malfoy could be heard saying, "What, she got fifty points for being hit with the Killing Curse? What a gyp!"

Maria frowned.

"Ignore them!" Remus said. "We're here to have fun."

At that moment, Sirius slid into the seat on Maria's other side. Remus smiled. "I have to go," he murmured, slipping away to Noel as Sirius scooted in.

"Maria, I'm so glad you're alright," he whispered, taking her hand and squeezing it.

She giggled. "Sirius…"

"Hey, Maria…?"

"Yeah?"

He kissed her slowly. "I love you."

"…I love you, too."

-

"Come on, come on! We're not gonna get a good compartment if you don't hurry up!" Lily shouted to the guys, who were dragging behind herself, Maria, and Noel.

"We're coming, Lily!" James yelled back, winking at her.

"Men," Noel rolled her eyes, jerking her trunk. "Will they ever change?"

"Probably not," Maria responded, dragging out her CD player.

"Maria, you can't use those on the train, can you?" Lily asked.

"Why couldn't I?"

"I thought electronic devices didn't work because of the magic."

Maria shrugged. "Well, we'll find out." She drew the headphones on over her ears and turned it on. Music blasted. She grinned and gave Lily a thumbs-up, mouthing lyrics.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Everything always works out for her. If it were one of us, the batteries would have melted into acid."

Noel smiled, stepping into an empty compartment. "This one looks good." She dropped her bag, all of them having already put up their trunks, and sat. Lily sat down next to her, Maria flopping down across from them. "TIGER ARMY NEVER DIE!"

Lily and Noel looked confused. Remus entered, laughing. "Maria and Muggle rock music are like this," he explained, crossing his fingers. "Although I think Tiger Army are classified as 'psychobilly.'"

That just confused them even more.

"Never mind," Remus grinned as James and Sirius entered.

"Hey, we're free!" James said loudly. "What are we gonna do over the summer?"

"Um," Lily shrugged.

"Dunno." Noel said.

"Something fun." Remus added.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed.

"My love, it is a black rose," Maria sang. James stared pointedly at her. "Held out to you by the hand of fate…and as this dark romance grows…" She noticed James staring. "What do you want?"

"We're trying to figure out what we're going to do over the summer."

"Oh. Uh, jeez, that's a tough one. I dunno. There'll be plenty of time to decide later, right?" She looked hopeful.

James grinned. "Put your headphones back on."

The train rumbled and clanged over the tracks. The girls and Marauders talked, laughed, and ate chocolate frogs. Nobody discussed what had happened. In the bright daylight, it could almost have been a dream.

Besides, there was always tomorrow.

-

a/n: WOW. I'm finished! Did you guys like it? I had fun writing it. Now, I guess I can get started on a sequel. Thankyouthankyouthankyou so much for reviewing! I 3 you all! –hugs- Please check out the sequel when I get it up. I promise it'll be good!