Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I owned ANY of this stuff, do you think I'd be writing fanfics online? No, I'd be writing books and getting lots and lots of money! The songs will be listed, for those of you who demanded a list of the songs, at the VERY END of the fic. That means, once it's all tied up and concluded, you'll be able to read the band names and albums that contributed to this work.
A big thanks and a shoutout goes to:
Raspberri13 – I'm really glad you like the songs! And, you suck! Take me with you to Toronto to see Bon Jovi! Kidding. I'd better stay here in one of the coldest places in the US to update for all of you guys.
amrawo – I'm happy you enjoyed the length of that chapter. It was a tad longer than this one...but this one has more stuff scrunched into it. I had to fit almost three years worth of information into this one chapter.
hpobsessor – Well, Lucius is getting dangerously out of character...so I'm probably going to fling him back into character sometime within the next few chapters. And Draco...well, Draco's learning. Kinda.
Moony-Mione-Padfoot – I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
evil-mastermind666 – TECHnically I can end it where ever I want. But where's the fun in that? Besides, I like seeing you guys beg. P
Idancer – Hehe. You'll just have to find out, won't you?
Alenor – I'm glad you like it so much. That's always gratifying to hear.
Sermione101 – Yes, as a matter of fact. It is not yet clinically proven (partially because the quacks scare me) but yes, I am Mad. OOH! COOKIE! NUM!
Bob Whose Name is too Long to Type – You and your cheering. I suppose you cheered again this time, huh. Yeah, that's what I figured. And no more being late. For shame. P
ghzowy – Graduation? Nothing happened on Graduation...that was at a concert several months later. I guess I wasn't really clear on that.
DeepWaterAngel – I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hehe. Here's another chapter for you.
Badgurl13a – Well...you'll find out in this chapter what I meant by "reunited"
Okay. You all voted pretty much unanimously for me to continue. Therefore, here is your next poll: Would you like me to post this new installment in the same story, as chapter 7, etc? Or would you like me to post it in a completely different place? New name, new summary, everything? I know what I'm rooting for...and I'll very likely veto the other suggestion, but I want to hear what you all have to say about it. Now...here you go. The last chapter of this particular installment of Kicking Buckets.
Yours,
Allison
"Learn from the Past
Live in the Present
Look to the Future" Maya Gurgeon
Kicking Buckets
Lalalalala Chapter 6 Lalalala
"I'm pregnant!" Lily gushed to Hermione, making the brunette squeal and hug her tightly.
"That's great, Lily! Have you told James!" Hermione squealed. It was almost a year after Lily and James had been married. Hermione herself had been the Maid of Honor, letting Narcissa and Lily do her hair and makeup to perfection. She'd almost outshone the bride that day, if Sirius' expression had been any indication. Of course, he'd had a similar expression on his face during Lucius and Narcissa's wedding.
Ironically enough, Narcissa was now pregnant too. Hermione found the information amusing. Her best friend and her worst enemy were both growing inside of the stomachs of their mothers. Trevor, too, had married...and his wife was pregnant. She and Sirius were the only couple left to marry. Severus would be getting married in two months. Life was good.
Hermione smiled, content, as she watched James' chocolate eyes widen and drop to his wife's stomach, where his child resided. In the next moment, he was screaming for drinks on him while Narcissa and Lily both sipped water, smiling and talking with Hermione. Severus swept to Hermione and drew her into a tight hug, twirling her around.
"I'm going to be a father." He whispered in her ear when he pulled back. Hermione felt her eyes widening, a smile breaking out on her face as she witnessed the private happiness of the man that she so admired.
"Severus...I'm so happy for you." She rested her hands on his shoulders, smiling brightly. He flashed her a brilliant smile in return.
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"But...Professor..." Draco dared interrupt. "You aren't married. Nor do you have a child..." He wished immediately by the whitening of that already pale face that he'd kept his mouth shut. He'd merely spoken what all of the students were thinking however, and he could sense their support at his back, enemies though some of them might be.
"No...I am not. And no...I do not." Severus said, his voice low. Lucius rested a hand on his shoulder lightly. Now that the shock had worn off on all of the Slytherins, they were acting much more...well, Slytheriny. Sirius had his head in Harry's lap as Snuffles, and the boy was stroking his head gently.
"Lily announced her pregnancy on Christmas." Lucius said camly. "When she was two months pregnant. Narcissa was Four Months pregnant. At the same time that Elisa, Severus' fiancee, told him that she too was pregnant. A month so, in fact." The students exchanged glances...a thrill of foreboding flying through them. "Severus and Elisa were to be married on Valentine's day...but on New Years..."
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"I'm glad we decided to do this, before we got too big." Narcissa said with a smile as she held Lucius' arm, walking along an icey sidewalk in New York on their way to Times Square. James and Sirius had dove into a tiny park, throwing snowballs at each other and laughing, their faces alight with glee. Hermione and Lily stood off to the side, barely able to contain their amusement. At times, they would cheer one or the other on, at times they would just laugh, their faces lighting up. Neither noticed Trevor snapping pictures like crazy of the two of them...their faces exact matches of each other's. They could have been twins, had their hair been the same length and color. They still looked like sisters.
When they finally finished their miniature scuffle, Sirius and James each pounced on the other's woman, kissing them lightly before stopping.
"Oops! Wrong girl!" James' eyes glittered into Maya's, and her laughter rang out as she gave him a playful shove.
"Go kiss your wife, you big goon!" She teased him before turning into Sirius' embrace. Sirius- who'd been trying to sneak up on her- stiffened in surprise before laughing and kissing her deeply.
"Come on, you lot!" Severus shouted from ahead where he had one arm around the small, blonde Elisa...who was peering with bright blue eyes out from under her blue stocking cap. She was dressed completely in blue, from her jeans to her turtle neck to her parka to her mittens. It suited her, and she suited Severus. Laughing, the four of them hurried to catch up, leaving Trevor and Makela- his wife- to follow when they finished their short snog. Hermione gave severus a short hug before beginning to look at the chocolates in a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory shop, grinning before hurrying inside, pulling out her purse to find some of her muggle money. Sirius yelped.
"Maya! Come on!" The other women, however, had spotted the chocolate. They all ran inside after Maya, who was laughing and picking out several bars of chocolate, paying for it before watching in amusement as Narcissa tried to figure out how to count the Muggle Money. She finally intervened, however, when the other woman started muttering about muggles under her breath. Plucking a twenty dollar bill from the other woman's hand, she handed it to the cashier.
"Sorry about that." She said with a grin. "We're tourists."
"Obviously." The cashier arched his eyebrow at them before counting back the change. As the women stepped back out of the store into the crisp December air, they laughed softly at the cashier's reaction. The stores all around them were beginning to close for the day, and they grinned as they each handed their husband/fiance a bar of chocolate and continued walking.
Catastrophe hit.
Maya was walking across a street with Sirius as the light turned yellow, and then red. She heard Elisa's shout and turned, watching as the shorter Muggleborn ran forward, shoving Severus onto the sidewalk as the bus that had been driving forward hit her dead on. Maya was well aware of Severus' anguished scream as James and Sirius, cursing, ran out into the street, holding up their hands to stop the traffic. Lucius ran out to check Elisa's pulse. When he found none, he let out a strangled noise. Like someone in a dream, Maya drew Severus into her arms, holding him as he sobbed into her chest, begging her to make everything alright, while Lily began a desperate round of Muggle CPR.
Later that night, once Severus had been given a dose of Dreamless Sleep Potion, Maya slipped out of his room into the warmth of the living room in the apartment that they were all sharing during their stay in America. She sat in Sirius' lap and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely as she closed her eyes in pain. She wasn't the only one mourning...Elisa had been a friend to all of them, and she would be sorely missed. The group of Nineteen-Year-Olds stared somberly at the ground, unable to find even the slightest urge to smile. Cheers erupted around them, signalling that the new year had begun.
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"Severus, I know you don't want to eat, but you MUST!" Maya said gently as she settled a nice, warm bowl of oatmeal in his lap. He glared up at her from where he lay in bed. "Severus...talk to me." His glare intensified, and the sneer that she'd come to know during her days as a student graced her face.
"Talk to you? You've no idea of the pain that I'm going through, Gurgeon." He drawled. Lucius, who was waiting just outside of the door to see if Maya could open Severus up once more, winced.
"I don't?" Was all she asked.
"You've never lost anyone in your life!" He hissed. "You have EVERYTHING! A loving fiancee, a passel of friends! What would you know about loss?" It was then that he finally calmed down enough to know what he was saying, taking in the too-pale face of the woman standing beside his bed and remembering the circumstances of her arrival at Hogwarts. "Maya...I'm...I'm...sorry."
"Are you rather finished being a selfish bastard?" She asked. He winced at the ice in her voice.
"Yes..." His voice was rather meek now, and she snatched up the spoon and shoved it into his hand.
"Good. Then eat before I sit down and force feed you." She snapped, crossing her arms. He winced again and forced himself to take a bite, swallowing hard. When she didn't leave his bedside, he sighed and resigned himself to forcing the meal down. Only when all of the oatmeal was gone did Maya snatch up the bowl and flounce out without a glance back. Lucius slipped into the room after she was gone, sighing.
"You shouldn't have said that." He said.
"I know..." Severus said, softly. "But Lucius...Elisa was my life! What am I going to do without her?"
"You will cling to the person whose presence is the only reason that we can stand the Gryffindors being around us." Lucius said, calmly. "Maya will be there for you every step of the way." He sighed at the bitter look that his fellow Slytherin was throwing him, standing up and walking to the door. "Think on it, Severus." He then walked out and closed the door behind him.
The next morning, Severus showed up at Breakfast. At a warning glance from Maya, nobody said anything. Narcissa simply set down the food and they began eating. There was a raw, cold edge to Severus that hadn't been there before, and all but Maya feared his temper, but he had chosen to live.
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"That's horrible, Professor!" Ginny said, jumping up and impulsively hugging Severus. He stiffened for a long moment before awkwardly- and stiffly- patting her back as she rested her body against his to provide the comfort of touch. She then returned to her seat and the group of students looked at the adults, who were all sitting around in various states of rememberance.
"Mr. Malfoy...if you don't mind me asking...how did you all just waltz into the Burrow?" Harry asked, after a time.
Lucius seemed surprised by this line of questioning, before he chuckled lightly. Perhaps they did need a short break from the burden of sorrow brought on by Maya's story. "How indeed." He said, softly, looking into the distance, his eyes slightly unfocused. "That is an entirely different story...one that I am not averse to sharing." He allowed his signature smirk to grace his face as he thought his answer out.
"Molly and Arthur were close friends of Maya's." Remus finally said. "They met at a charity ball put together by the current Minister of Magic...Artimus Greene. Knowing that Hermione had been thrown into the past, they would have let Lucius in- albeit reluctantly- to help tell the story."
"Greene was a close friend of James' father, so James was asked to find the band to play. He chose Snake's Halo." Sirius said. "By this time, Lily, James, Remus, Peter, and I were Aurors...active in the fight against You Know Who. The ball was to help the victims of that war who could no longer afford to take care of themselves."
"I was into politics by then, so the choice was a good one in the Minister's eyes." Lucius said. "Severus was finishing up his apprenticeship to become a potions master, and Maya?"
"Maya had become an Auror as well." Severus stated. "She was single-handedly responsible for reaping havoc on You Know Who's forces. She caught Death-Eaters left and right."
"She was on the Dark Lord's 'most wanted' list for a long time." Trevor said. "I was working as a spy under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and I was able to keep her one step ahead of him."
"And then...the prophesy was heard." Sirius said, quietly.
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"Albus...I know about the Prophesy." Maya said as she stepped into the Headmaster's office. The twenty-year-old was trim and fit from her Auror training. She was a good several months older than James and Lily, and slightly younger than Sirius, Lucius, and Severus. Draco would be born this week sometime, and Harry less than three weeks later. She fought the urge to cry...she was doing that a lot lately.
"Then you also know that James and Lily must go into hiding soon." Albus said.
Maya nodded once before turning and looking at the portraits on the wall for a long time. "Albus. Try to get them to let you be their secret keeper, if you can. Trust me...and do it." She then turned and walked out silently, leaving the Headmaster to ponder over the strange behavior of the young Auror.
Three days later, Maya was standing silently in the Maternity Wing at St. Mungos, watching in amusement with Sirius and Severus as Lucius paced along the length of the hallway. They'd sent Lily and James home to bed at ten...and it was now three. In the morning, that was. Suddenly, a baby's cry split the air and Lucius let out a shout. Nothing on earth could have kept him out of that room, and nobody tried. Maya smiled and sank into Sirius' lap, where he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Hermione did a quick math problem in her mind. "Next August." She said.
"What?" Sirius looked at her.
"Next August." She said. "Let's set the wedding date for next August."
"Oh my...are you serious!" He asked, standing up and dumping her out of his lap.
"That's your name..." She laughed, rubbing her bum as he helped her up. "So no...I'm not Sirius."
"You know what I mean..." He said, looking at her.
"Yes, Sirius. I am perfectly positive. I want to set the date for the wedding." She told him. He let out a shout and kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close to him.
"Miss Maya Gurgeon?" A mediwitch asked. Maya turned.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Mr and Mrs. Malfoy wish to see you." Maya kissed Sirius once more and walked quietly into the room within which Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco waited. She looked down at the couple and smiled.
"I'm so happy for you two."
"Maya..." Lucius began, looking to Narcissa who nodded. "You are my best friend...and...well..."
"Severus has already agreed to being Draco's Godfather, Maya." Narcissa said. "We would like you to be his Godmother."
Hermione forced herself not to burst out laughing at the irony. "I would love to, Lucius...Narcissa!" She let the tall blonde man sweep her into a tight hug, holding her close for a long moment.
"There are some forms that you need to sign, but you can do that in the morning. Now...what did I hear Sirius shout about?" Narcissa asked.
"We're setting a date. Next August." She said. Lucius gave a shout and swung her around.
"I'm a father and you're getting married!" He crowed. "This is the best night of my life!" Laughing, Hermione kissed his cheek.
"I'm going to go take my fiance home, before he passes out in the waiting room." She said, smiling and kissing their cheeks. "Goodnight, my little Godson." She whispered, kissing Draco's forehead. He cooed and stirred, looking up at her with wide blue eyes that would later turn to the endless gray eyes that she remembered. Smiling, she brushed her fingers across his cheek and slipped out.
Three weeks later, a similar scene took place when Lily and James asked Hermione and Sirius to be the godparents of their son, Harry.
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"Wait...what?" Draco yelped. Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked at each other, stunned. "Granger is my...GODMOTHER!"
"Yes, Draco. She is." Narcissa said softly.
"I...you said my Godmother died." He said, slowly.
"We are not sure." Lucius said.
"Not...not SURE!" Draco stuttered.
"Maybe we should let them finish the story." Harry said softly, also stunned by the realization. "There can't be much left..."
"Indeed not..." Remus said softly.
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"Voldemort's after Lucius and Narcissa." Trevor spoke. It made the Order freeze in its tracks. Maya turned and looked at the couple, Draco in her arms. The infant and Maya had formed a bond...even when his own parents couldn't get him to sleep, she could. The fact that they all lived in one house, still, helped. Maya tended to babysit Harry and Draco a lot, playing with them on the floor. It was the only time that she was truly happy anymore...besides when she was close to Sirius.
That rarely happened, however, with the threat of Voldemort looming over everything.
"We will go into hiding immediately." Lucius said.
"Of course." Albus said. "Maya...?"
"I'll do it, Albus." She stood and handed the baby in her arms to his mother, hurrying out. It had begun. There was no going back from here. She travelled into the muggle world searching. After a good week of searching, she found a location that would be perfect for her work and cast the spell, silently accepting the burden of being the Malfoys' Secret Keeper.
When she walked into the mansion, she met Lucius' eyes and handed him a slip of paper. "Memorize it." She handed Narcissa and Draco each a slip of paper. Draco's had an instant memory charm on it. As soon as he'd seen it, she took the paper away and tossed it into the fire. Lucius and Narcissa followed suit immediately after they'd memorized the address. Hermione hugged them.
"Good luck. I will drop by once a week with supplies..." She whispered.
"Thank you, Maya..." Lucius whispered as he and Narcissa disapparated with Draco. Hermione stared at the spot where her best friend had disappeared before turning and moving to kiss Sirius, who wrapped her in his arms and held her.
"I'm frightened..." She confessed to her fiance. He bowed his head.
"I know. It'll be alright. I promise, Maya." He told her. She let herself believe him, just for a moment. Let herself be comforted by him. She knew better...it was all she could do not to run to Lily and James and beg them not to let Pudge be their Secret Keeper.
It wasn't long after that that Trevor came to Dumbledore with disturbing news. "There's a traitor on our side, sir." He told the Headmaster and Maya, who was standing there silently, her arms crossed. You know the law...you know what you are risking... Dumbledore looked at her, but saw nothing. She'd become an expert at hiding what she knew. What she'd lived through before she'd appeared in the Great Hall three years before, unconscious, after a journey through time. She didn't seem surprised to learn of the traitor like she had the fact that Voldemort had set his sights in store for the Malfoys.
"He knows of a prophesy..." Trevor continued, quietly. "He's researched..." Maya leapt the Headmaster's desk and shoved Trevor behind the door of the office, tossing an invisibility cloak- hers, in fact- over him. Startled into silence, the Slytherin spy stared as James swept into the room moments later.
"Headmaster." James said, cordially. "Is Maya here?"
"Here, James." She stepped from the corner.
"The Longbottoms...they've been captured." James said. Maya blanched, drawing her want as she moved for the door.
"What can you hope to do?" Albus asked.
"I can give their child a tangible thing to visit." She said, walking out the door quickly. When she arrived at the Longbottom's home, Old Mrs. Longbottom was already there, holding Neville close.
"Miss Gurgeon...will you find them?" The old, dignified woman asked.
"I will try my best, Mrs. Longbottom." Maya said, casting a spell to find the magical auras. She sighed in resignation as she studied the auras that had cast magic lately. Finally recognizing one, she set a trace on the aura and closed her eyes, apparating blindly. She opened her eyes to see a group of deatheaters looking at her in shock and smirked.
"Well well, Black. You're about as subtle as an Elephant stampeding a safari campground." Maya said with a smirk. There was a wordless shriek of rage from one of the deatheaters, but Hermione was already casting non-verbal spells, stunning the deatheaters surrounding Frank and Alice- Alice who had been Alice Boron, Maya's dorm-mate- one-by-one until only Bellatrix was left.
"Gurgeon, you bitch." Bellatrix spat. "My name is Lestrange now. Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Well, unfortunately I'm busy right now." Maya said, walking to Alice and Frank. Frank had graduated the year before Maya's class, so she didn't know him as well as she knew Alice. But she knew them...and she knew Neville. That was enough for her. "Tell you what. Meet me at my mansion tomorrow night. We'll duel." She said, almost pleasantly.
"You're on, Gurgeon. If I win, you go back to where you came from and never show your face again."
"If I win, you'll spy on Voldemort for the Order." Hermione said, calmly.
"Deal." Bellatrix said, smirking darkly. With that, Hermione concentrated and apparated with both Frank and Alice's bodies, straight to St. Mungo's. The mediwitches and mediwizards seemed none too pleased to see her standing there, especially when they saw the two bodies with her. A deatheater had gotten off a spell towards Hermione, and her robes were singed slightly from it.
"Frank and Alice Longbottom." She told the mediwitch who asked. "They were kidnapped by deatheaters...I must go...there are things that need to be done." She disapparated , leaving the wounded aurors in the care of St. Mungos. She moved quickly into the mansion.
"Maya...where have you been?" Sirius asked.
"Nevermind that..." She said. "What are you guys doing tomorrow night?" She looked at the Marauders and Severus as she asked.
"James and I have to go into hiding." Lily said softly. "Voldemort has heard of a prophesy saying that Harry would defeat him...so he's going to be out to kill Harry."
Hermione felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. You know the law...you know what you are risking... "Of course you must."
"Why?" Sirius said, suddenly suspicious.
"I have...an...engagement...tomorrow night that demands that I kick you all out of the house." She said, forcing a cheery smile. "It works, then, if you guys are going to be casting the spells to send Lily and James into hiding." Don't use Peter. You know the law...you know what you are risking... "Severus can spend the night at Hogwarts...he starts teaching there next year, after all..." Please...give me the strength to lose all that I hold dear. Again.
"Maya?" Severus asked, suspiciously. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Severus. Don't concern yourself with it." She kissed his cheek and Sirius' lips. That night, as she lay in bed curled close to Sirius' chest, she knew with a cold certainty that this was the last time that he would hold her like this.
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"That night, I returned from the meeting with Dumbledore to find that the front yard of the mansion was torn apart by spells." Sirius said. "As was the house. Bellatrix Lestrange bragged openly about killing Maya." He sighed softly.
"It broke us all apart." Narcissa said. "Sirius thought that we should have been there to protect Maya. He might have been right, on some levels."
"None of you could have known." Harry said, quietly.
"Yeah..." Draco said softly. "Maya was a powerful witch...you couldn't have known that she was going to fight Bellatrix."
"Nobody knows for sure what happened that night." Remus said. "I was gone on a date, Severus had been sent to Hogwarts...Pudge had run off to wherever."
"Maya disappeared without a trace. There was no blood, there was no body." Sirius finished. He sighed softly, standing. "Run along, kids. You have classes in the morning, and we need to get back to work."
"Indeed." Severus said, "Come along, Draco. Blaise." The two young students followed him out and down to the dungeons silently.
"Off you go, Ginny, Ron, Harry." Remus said, softly. The students filed out silently. Lucius sighed and donned his Aristocrat's mask, walking out silently with Narcissa. Sirius sighed and moved to the door, shifting into a dog and trotting towards the Great Hall. Remus silently walked down the hallway after the dog, his eyes sad with the remembered pain of that night.
The only ones who knew what had happened the night that Maya disappeared were Maya and Bellatrix, and neither one was talking. The werewolf sighed with weariness as he entered his quarters and fell into bed, closing his eyes. He could only imagine what Sirius would go through that night. He'd probably go back to the old boarded up mansion where they'd made their home for so long, slipping inside and crying himself to sleep on the bed that had once been his and Maya's. The war had ruined so many things for Sirius. And now...knowing that Maya could have prevented it...that she could have told them who the traitor was...
Remus wasn't entirely certain that, should the brunette woman with fiery eyes and a quick temper show up that night, he would welcome her warmly.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny fell into bed, thinking of what they had been told that night. Maya Gurgeon was Harry Potter's Godmother. He had parents, of a form, in his Godparents...and yet he'd never met his Godmother. Not once.
Draco was thinking similar thoughts as he stumbled into bed, remembering the witch that his father had loved so dearly. He couldn't imagine Granger liking Slytherins...but he didn't know Gurgeon. Granger and Gurgeon were, for all intents and purposes, two different people.
Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, the twinkle in his eye petered out as he remembered somberly the young witch who had shown so much promise...whose bank account and records he kept on hand even now...holding them for her return. These thoughts were still predominant on his mind as the door to his office swung open slowly. Pale blue eyes widened as they rested upon the witch that stood there, her eyes bleak and cold, her long brown hair highlighted naturally with streaks of gold and an unnaturally dark tan dominating her flesh. She was wearing robes of a fine quality, stitched with an auror's insignia on her left shoulder. Her robes were severely singed, and the woman herself looked rather worn down.
"Albus." The voice was just as he remembered it. The ancient wizard stood with more speed than he might have thought possible, conjuring up a chair behind her just as she fell into it. He summoned a house elf for some tea and hurried forward. "How long has it been?" Not just as he remembered it, Albus realized with a sinking feeling. There were undertones of dispair there. This woman had lost everything. Everything. Twice. How horrible must it have been to lose it once, but twice?
"It is the beginning of Harry and Ron's seventh year." He forced his voice to be pleasant, watching as one of his favorite students closed her eyes in dispair, a tear slipping out.
"Have they..."
"They have been informed of everything that happened while you were gone." Albus hesitated. "Save for one night." He knew by the way the woman immediately stilled that she wasn't looking forward to the telling.
"Bellatrix Lestrange and I duelled. End of story." Maya Gurgeon said, her voice hard.
"Miss Granger, please." Albus said, softly. Blue eyes met brown for a long moment before the young woman sighed and sipped her tea.
"Very well. Sit down, for the telling is not one that I relish. And Albus..." When he looked at her, she was studying the tea in her hands. "It's Maya. It has been for the past three years, it cannot change now." When he was sitting, she looked up at him before turning her gaze to the tea in her hands. "What you must understand, Albus, is that to me, it is not sixteen years in the future. These events all happened no more than a half an hour ago, by my way of reckoning..."
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Everyone had left for the day...whether of their own free will or because I ordered them to...
Maya silently worked on the potion that would be essential in the duel. It was one whose formula she had developed through many hours of research, and it should counteract the effects of a time-turner. The formula was in her pocket to return home with her. When she'd finished the last step, she took the potion off of the fire to cool and, when it was suitably tempered, she filled the vial that she had for the occasion before vanishing the cauldron to the kitchen to be cleaned by the houselves and returned to the laboratory.
Glancing at her witch's watch, she saw that it was time to meet Albus at Diagon Alley for their weekly tea. Sighing, the young witch closed her eyes, concentrating, and disapparated.
When she arrived at the tiny café, she saw that the Headmaster was waiting for her. She moved through the crowd with an envelope in one hand, sealed with the crest that she had created herself to be her own personal seal. "Albus." She greeted him warmly.
"Maya. I can't thank you enough for saving Frank and Alice." He said softly, sitting down.
"I'm afraid I didn't do much saving, Albus." Maya said wryly. "Their son will never know their love, truly."
"But at least he will know them...and that is something for which he would be able to thank you." Maya cut off her protest.
Harry crossed my mind at that moment...and I realized that you were right...I may not have been able to save Frank and Alice's minds, but at least Neville has someone to look to. At least he knows them.
You have come to terms with this, then?
Albus...I haven't come to terms with anything as of yet. I'm still in shock from my duel...anyways, if you'll care to remember, I also gave you an envelope at this time...
"Even so." She said, softly. Her voice remained low as she remembered her fellow Aurors before she seemed to literally shake herself. "Albus...I must ask you to do something for me."
"Yes?"
"Take this." She handed him the sealed envelope. "Do not open it until tomorrow evening. Promise me."
"I promise." He said, looking at her suspiciously.
"Don't worry, Albus. Inside is a letter that will explain everything." She smiled in a very subdued way. "Give this to Professor McGonagall..." She handed him another letter, this one slightly heavier. "She will know what to do with the contents."
"Will there be anything else?" Albus asked. Maya considered it.
"I don't believe so, Professor." She said softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me...I've a fair few things to do..."
"Of course. I will see you at the next Order meeting, Miss Gurgeon."
There was a long, unnatural pause. Albus could see clearly that these past three- nearly four- years had weighed heavily on the young woman. "I will see you then, Headmaster." With that, Maya disapparated.
Once back at home, she forced herself to go about business as usual, filling out the papers for her latest assignations. Though they weren't due to the office until the next week, she finished them all that day and slid them into an envelope, whistling for Sirius' owl, Barnaby. When the owl landed, she tied the envelope to his leg. "Auror Headquarters, Barnaby. Straight to Moody." She smiled fondly when she thought of her partner. "He'll know what to do with them." The owl hooted and gave her an affectionate nip with his beak before taking flight.
Maya had one more loose end to tie up. This would be the hardest of them all, really. Sighing, she sat down to write. The letter was long, and it was full of sorrow and regrets. It was also full of love. Into the envelope went her ring, and it was sealed with her crest and left on Sirius' pillow.
What did the letter say, Maya?
As to that, Albus, I'm afraid you'll have to ask Sirius.
You wrote the letter...and then..?
I waited. I knew that Bellatrix would come to me when she was ready for the duel to begin. I'd ordered everyone out of the house for the day, so I knew that there was no chance of being interrupted...
Did she show up?
What do you think?
It was nearing dark by the time Bellatrix walked into the yard. Maya was waiting. "Hello, Lestrange." A strange music began to play from the house...Maya had accidentally hit a wizard's record player...and one of the new tracks that Lucius and Hermione had worked on began.
"Gurgeon." Bellatrix greeted coldly, lifting her wand. "Stupefy!"
"Protego!" Maya was ready. The attic was set up for her last stand, and the house was set up to provide a series of retreats and stands. She could kill Bellatrix...but Dumbledore's voice rang in her head...as usual. You know the law...you know what you are risking... "Expelliarmus!"
"Protego! Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted.
Maya felt the searing pain rush through her veins as she fell to her knees, squinting through the white hot light searing at the back of her eyes. "Sectumsempra!" Immediately Bellatrix let out a scream as blood gushed from the wounds opened by the spell. She lifted her wand to defend, but saw that her quarry was gone, the door to the mansion still swinging. A voice began to sing from within.
(Note: The bold is Maya's singing...the Italics are what Hermione is whispering to Dumbledore in the Future as she's telling the story...so imagine her voice in monotonous inflections where the italics are. The song is Tourniquet by Evanescence, for those of you who want to listen to it while you're reading this.)
I tried to kill the pain...
But only brought more So much more
I lay dying
And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal
I'm dying dying
Praying praying
Bleeding bleeding
And screaming
Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost?
My god, my Tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My god, my Tourniquet
Return to me salvation
Bellatrix growled and followed the Auror into the house after a few quick healing spells that every duellist knew. She cast protego the moment she stepped in the door. It was a good thing, too, for there was an expelliarmus moving straight for her. "Crucio!" She tried, again, to catch the Auror in the spell. Maya had other ideas, it seemed, and she dove behind a chair, which exploded. The young Auror dove behind a sofa.
"Impedimenta!" She stood, shouting the spell. Bellatrix dove into the kitchen as the spell passed through the door and exploded the kitchen table. "Equanome!" Hermione shouted. The doorway exploded, leaving a pile of debris that the Slytherin would have to dig through. Maya turned, running for the stairs.
Do you remember me?
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side?
Will you forget me?
I'm dying dying
Praying praying
Bleeding bleeding
And screaming
Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost?
My god, my Tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My god, my Tourniquet
Return to me salvation
"Bombardo!" Bellatrix snarled, emerging into the Living Room amidst a shower of dust and debris. She ran for the stairs after the retreating robes of the Gryffindor. "Incendio!" Maya cried out as she threw herself to the stairs, feeling the fireball singe her robes. Standing up, she doused the flames at the top of the stairs and turned to look down. "Serpensortia!" The snakes flew out of her wand and began to attack Bellatrix.
Return to me Salvation...
"Impedimenta!" The snakes died one by one, and Bellatrix continued up the stairs as they evened out into a hall, with more stairs at the end of the hall. Maya was already on her way up the second set of stairs. Bellatrix followed, shouting hexes...Maya easily countered each one. Those that she didn't counter went wild anyways.
I want to die...
My god, my Tourniquet
Return to me salvation
When Bellatrix arrived at the top of the stairs, she saw a wide, large attic that had obviously been cleared for this final battle. She smirked. Of course she would oblige the Gryffindor.
My god, my Tourniquet
"Avada Kedavra!" She roared. Maya jumped behind a piece of furniture, which exploded.
Return to me salvation
"Crucio!" Bella was engulfed by the pain, dimly aware that someone was screaming and that that someone was her as she fought through the pain and narrowed her eyes.
My wounds cry for the grave
"Impedimenta!"
My soul cries for deliverance
"Protego!"
Will I be denied?
"Crucio!" Maya's screams filled the attic. Bella watched as the Gryffindor reached out and grabbed a potion, chugging it.
Christ- Tourniquet...
The Slytherin knew she had to act before the potion took effect. "Avada Kedavra!" The flash of green filled the room...and when it disappeared, so had Maya Gurgeon.
...my suicide...
END
(Due to the rules of the site, the following has been tacked onto the end of this chapter from the last post. My apologies to the admin, but it is a necessary post, to get in the disclaimers to the proper artists of the songs that I used in my fic)
Dearest Readers:
WHELP! THAT'S IT! THAT'S ALL! No, seriously. You think I'm kidding? Kicking Buckets, as far as the first installment goes, is finished. Don't look so surprised. You know how much I enjoy leaving you with cliff-hangers. So, as promised, here is the list of songs and artists. It may not be completely accurate, because there are one or two CD's that I used that I may not know off of the top of my head. Sorry about this ahead of time
Disclaimer: The following songs are not mine. They are various works by various artists who I happen to enjoy listening to. They appear in- more or less- chronological order through the story.
Chapter One:
What Happened To Us? – Hoobastank (The Reason)
Unaffected – Hoobastank (The Reason)
Holding Out for a Hero – Frou Frou (The Shrek 2 Soundtrack)
Are We the Waiting – Greenday (American Idiot)
Extraordinary Girl – Greenday (American Idiot)
Disappear – Hoobastank (The Reason)
She's a Rebel – Greenday (American Idiot)
Bring Me to Life – Evanescence (Fallen)
Chapter Three:
You love me Face to Face – Alabama (THIS is the one that I'm not 100 positive about...The title, I mean. I'm certain that Alabama sings it, however.)
Accidentally in Love – Counting Crows (The Shrek 2 Soundtrack)
I'm on my Way – Rich Price (The Shrek 2 Soundtrack)
Holding Out for a Hero – Jennifer Saunders (The Shrek 2 Soundtrack)
Truly Madly Deeply – Savage Garden (Savage Garden)
Chapter Four:
Hit me with your Best Shot – Pat Benatar(Pat Benatar: 14 Greatest Hits)
Chapter Five:
Heartbreaker – Pat Benatar (Pat Benatar: 14 Greatest Hits)
Kiss From a Rose – Seal (I don't have this album...the song is on my comp)
You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi (Greatest Hits)
Whisper – Evanescence (Fallen)
Chapter Six:
Tourniquet – Evanescence (Fallen)
All of the songs were wonderful, I had a delightful time writing out the actions and imagining Maya's dances.
You can prompt me into posting the next installment of this series by reviewing en-masse to this post. Yes. If you read this post, this is your call to review. ALL of you, review. I don't care if you sit there and whine the entire time about how this isn't a chapter and you don't want me to stop here. The story- such as it is- ends there. It honestly, truly ends the moment that Hermione- or Maya- finishes telling the last of her own story...just as it began with a tiny prelude explaining exactly how she came to be in the past.
For those of you who want to know why she travels through time so much, and in so many complicated ways, I answer you this: She does so, because- to be frank- I wrote it that way. There are a certain number of liberties that each author may choose to take with a particular plot-line. In this story, this is the plot-line I chose. Yes, this is a fun read. I myself have gone back and re-read it many times. I did so before it was posted, and I will continue to do so now that it is finished. It was never meant to be anything more than a fun little ficlet that I wrote to 1. Teach myself to write longer chapters, enabling my readers to gain more information faster. 2. Pass the time. And 3. Hopefully give you guys a bit of something to read in the bargain.
Now, I will not force you to listen to my meaningless- and likely unheeded- drivel. All I have to say is this...review, and you shall have your sequel. If not...well, not every story has a happy ending, after all. I finished the third book in a trilogy just the other day and it left me weeping and cursing both the author and one of the main characters for being foolishly heroic and getting himself killed. And now, Fair Readers, I leave you.
Yours,
Allison