A/N- Alright everyone, this is it for this story. The end! Well, the end of one thing and the beginning of another. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Three: Some Other Beginning's End

The morning came, and Jack had only gotten about two hours of sleep. He got out of bed around six o'clock and took a hasty shower before walking into the living room to find it empty. He moved over to Lily's room and listened by the door, but he didn't hear anything, so he opened it and saw that her bed had been made up and the room was empty.

Sighing heavily, he entered the room against his better judgment and walked over to her desk where she had a book open with a quill on top of the pages. He recognized the handwriting to be Lily's and then he realized that the book must be her journal. She'd let him read one of her journals once before, but he'd never seen this one. Again, against his better judgment he picked up the book and began to read the entry with yesterday's date.

I can't recall a time in my life when I've felt colder then I do right now. I tried to sleep last night but it was all in vain because I kept tossing and turning in bed, shivering no matter how many covers and blankets I could find to wrap myself up in. I know it has something to do with Jack. I'll never tell him this but I miss him so much it makes me not want to get out of bed in the morning. I can never tell him. He needs to get way from me and this hell that seems to follow me wherever I go. He may not see it now, but he'll be better off in the end. He'll be happy. I can't give him that. Maybe he'll be like he was in the vision Luis showed me. He'll get married to someone else and have a lovely family. I want that for him, I really do. But I know as much as I want him to be happy, I can't stand by and watch. I'm leaving on the 15th. Who knows, maybe it'll be easier for him to move on that way. Without me in the way…

Deep down I know he didn't mean the things he's said to me during the last few days. He's frustrated and so am I. But I have to say, it's convenient. He needs to stay away from me. I just have to keep telling myself that. I know I love him even more now that it's over. Funny how cruel life can be.

Jack set the book down once he finished reading the entry.

She was planning on leaving. She'd admitted it. She was definitely her father's daughter, that's for sure. Now that he knew what she was up to, he was only more determined to make sure that she didn't succeed. She loved him, and he loved her. That was enough to tell him that it wasn't over, and it was also the only motivation he needed to head into work. He left the room without a backward glance, and about ten minutes later found himself at the ministry. When he finally got to their training floor, the woman at the desk greeted him brightly.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley," she said, smiling.

"Morning," he grunted back as he continued passed her into the hall and then into their locker room. Lily was in there putting on her tennis shoes. She looked like she hadn't slept at all the night before, which only worried him more.

"I must have missed you this morning," he said, setting his bag down on the bench and opening his locker.

"I went for a run and didn't get a chance to go back once I was done," she told him without looking up. She really hadn't lied to him—strictly speaking—because she had gone for a run, but the reason she went for a run so early was so that she wouldn't have to face him.

"You seem to be going on a lot of those lately," Jack observed.

"It helps me clear my head," she said distantly as she slipped her other foot into her shoe.

"Funny, you used to clear your head by talking to me," Jack said sadly.

He heard her sigh deeply before saying, "Jack, let's not do this at work."

"Then where do you want to do it? You can't run away from this forever. We're going to have to talk about what been going on."

"Do you really think there's much to talk about? We're working separately again today. I'm sure you have another one of your top secret meetings to attend to anyway. I'll see you at lunch…maybe," she said as she walked out of the locker room, closing the door softly behind her.

Jack spent the rest of the morning with Davison, one of their trainers, working on various tactics. When lunch came around, he discovered that Lily was skipping the meal to duel with one of the higher ranking aurors.

He knew that she hadn't slept in over two days; he could tell by looking at her. He personally hadn't shared any of her dreams, but that didn't mean she wasn't having them and that could have been what was keeping her awake. She hadn't been having them lately, but now that he wasn't taking the potion anymore that could change.

He felt completely responsible for her exhaustion. If only he hadn't said those things to her and gotten her so upset…

The room swirled around Lily's head as she tried to focus in on her opponent. Greg was a good dueler and he'd really been letting her have it for over an hour. But truth be told, her head wasn't in it at all. She'd had a splitting headache for over an hour, and now she was becoming dizzy.

She knew what this meant: this is what usually happened to her before she had an attack and saw Malfoy again. Against her own will, started wishing Jack were with her. Even though she didn't want to admit it, his absence made everything about work a lot less worth the effort.

The room started to spin around her head and Lily found the nearest wall to brace herself against. She could feel the pain rising up through her body like flood waters. Starting slowly at her feet and continuing up to her knees, hips, stomach, and chest. She dropped her wand and fell to her knees breathing in short gasps, trying to get a hold of herself.

"Lily, are you okay?" Greg asked, stopping the duel when he saw her fall and placing a hand on her shoulder.

She struggled to speak but finally managed to get her point across to him quietly, "C…can you …go get Jack for me…please?"

"I'm going, Lil. Just hold on!" she heard Greg cry before she felt herself lose consciousness.

She found herself again back in the cell under Malfoy's manor. He was already there waiting for her and when he saw her arrive, he wasted no time at all. He took one step towards her and slammed her against the rocky wall.

"What took you so long, Potter? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to fight it!"

"I was," Lily said, raising her eyes to him as he kneed her hard in the stomach. She doubled over in pain, but didn't let herself fall to the ground. It took her several minutes to regain her breath, and when she did it hurt like hell as she took too deep a breath. "Why do you keep bringing me here?"

"Because I like you Potter. I relish in your misery. And believe me, you're miserable!" he said before throwing her against the opposite wall so hard that she felt a rock cut into her side.

"Why don't you just kill me now and get it over with!" she said in near tears. She didn't want him to see that he had this affect on her, but her body wasn't giving her much of a choice.

"I should just kill you! That would help all parties involved. And that's including you filthy father, your half-blood boyfriend, and his pathetic family!"

"So just do it already!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Fine!" he shouted, pulling out his wand.

Someone was shaking her shoulders. She moaned as whomever it was pressed on a bruise she knew was appearing on her right shoulder. Without opening her eyes, she rolled over and began coughing heavily. It wasn't until she brought her hand to her face that she realized she was coughing up blood. She snapped her eyes open in horror and looked up into Jack's concerned crystal-blue eyes.

"Go get a healer," Jack commanded Greg, and once again he was running out the door.

Lily tried to tell Jack to leave her alone, even though she really wanted him to stay, but when she opened her mouth she just started coughing again.

"Its okay, Lil! Just takes slow deep breaths," he said, rubbing her back as she was now on her side again.

"It…hurts…to breathe," she said softly as tears fell from her eyes unwillingly. She hated to have him see her like this.

"Shhhh, everything will be okay in a minute or two. The healer is on the way," he said soothingly.

"It'll never be okay," she said as she continued to sob deeply, which only made it harder for her to breathe. It wasn't long before she passed out completely from lack of oxygen.

When light finally hit Lily's eyes, she found herself in the healer's office laying on her back, looking up at the blank ceiling. She tried to sit up at once, but remembered what happened with Malfoy when the pain in her chest returned with violent force, so on the next attempt she was more careful.

"You need to lie flat on your back, dear," a kind voice told her.

"What happened?" she asked in a raspy voice when the healer helped her painfully back down to the bed.

"You passed out during training. That's all they tell me. I don't have security clearance to be told anything else. I can send your family and your boyfriend in if you like. They're all outside."

"I'd like to see my dad if you don't mind," she asked as kindly as possible.

"No one else?" the woman said hopefully.

"Not right now," Lily assured her.

The woman left the room, giving Lily some time to gather her thoughts. She had been so terrified in that room earlier. She couldn't breath but she didn't want to lose her composure in front of her father. She heard the door creak open and saw Harry rush over to her bedside.

"Lily! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dad," she said, her eyes already glossing over.

"No you're not! What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" she countered dryly.

"How bad was it this time?" Harry inquired.

"Bad enough to put me in here," she said, looking around with disgust. "I hate the healer's office."

"Lily, you are practically a healer!" Harry reminded her.

"I know, but I don't like having to be healed! I'd much rather be doing the healing," she said forcefully.

"Do you want me to have everyone come in?" Harry asked, gesturing towards the door.

"Is Jack out there?" she wondered warily, though she knew he would be.

"You know he is. He's worried sick! We all are."

"I can't see him right now. I'll see Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, but not him. No arguments here, Dad. This isn't up for discussion."

Harry shook his head. "This is going to hurt him very badly, Lily. Are you sure you want to do this to the man you love? The man you're going to marry? He was practically in tears when we arrived."

"I'm not marrying Jack," she said, looking away.

Harry sighed softly. She'd expected him to be mad, because she knew he cared for Jack very much, but all she heard in his voice was sadness. "I wish you could see how big of a mistake you're making."

"I can only bring him and his family pain. I'm sick of all this. I'd rather be alone then force him to relive all the pain he's already been through. I don't make him happy like I used to."

"Lily, please don't do this. Believe me, I've been right where you are and I've spent a lifetime regretting the decision you're about to make…" Harry started to say something else but stopped short and took a deep breath. "I'll go to get Hermione and Ron. We'll talk about this later."

"There's not much to talk about," she said under her breath as he left the room.

Harry stepped outside the door to where everyone else was waiting. "She's awake," he said to Ron and Hermione, eyeing Jack who was slumped over in his chair and looking the other way. "She wants to see you guys," he nodded his head towards Ron and Hermione.

"Doesn't she want to see Jack too?" Hermione asked as she and Ron got up and walked towards the entrance to Lily's room. Harry opened his mouth several times but couldn't find the right words to say, but luckily for him Jack spoke instead.

"You guys just go on ahead," he said, giving his mother a greatly forced smile. Ron and Hermione went in to see Lily without further question. They both seemed to know that something was up but neither really knew the right questions to ask.

"Is she okay?" Jack asked once Lily's door was closed once again.

"No, she's not. But she putting on a good act," Harry said as he took a seat in the chair across from him. "I feel like I should apologize, Jack. She gets this from me. I look at her in there and I see myself a long time ago."

"If anyone is at fault here, it's me. I let her down."

"Just hang in there. We'll work this out," Harry said assertively.

Jack nodded his head and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Was she still in pain?"

"I couldn't tell," Harry said, sitting back trying to relax.

"She's giving up," Jack said, putting his head in his hands.

"What do you mean? How do you know?" Harry asked desperately.

"Because I could hear all that was said during her vision," Jack stated solemnly.

"I don't understand what you're saying," Harry said, completely bewildered.

"I was at lunch and I started hearing all these voices in my head. At first I thought I was going nuts, but then I began to realize who the voices belonged to. It happened almost like the other dreams that I saw, but this time I could only hear what was going on. I heard Lily and Malfoy talking. I could hear him slapping her around and slamming her against stuff. He told her how he wanted to kill her, and she just told him to get it over with. I was already halfway there when Greg came and running to get me. I was surprised that she asked him to go get me, actually. We're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment."

"She asked for you because she loves you, Jack. She may not want to at the moment. But deep down, she loves you just as much as she always has."

"How can you be so sure?" Jack him question intensely.

"Because it's written all over her face. All you have to do is look hard enough. I know she's changed a lot. She's not the same girl she was a year or two ago. You have to ask yourself if you can still love the woman she's become just as much as you loved the woman she used to be."

"There's not a question in my mind. I loved her then and I'll love her 'til the day I die, whether she wants me to or not," Jack replied, with determination embedded in his voice.

"Just keep telling her that, and I know whatever it is that's come between you two, you guys will sort it out," Harry reassured him.

"I don't know Harry--" He would have continued with his thought but he was interrupted when Josh, a fellow auror, patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey Jack, I heard your girl had a rough day," he nodded toward the door to the healers office.

Jack didn't say anything for a long second. When he replied he looked directly at Harry instead of Josh. "She's not mine anymore."

"What did you say?" Josh asked in playful disbelief.

"I said she's not mine anymore!" Jack repeated angrily.

"Jack, is everything alright? I've heard people talking about what happened today. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Nothing except that my life seems to be coming apart at the seams," he turned to Josh momentarily and stood up. Once he was standing he looked back at Harry, "You'll take care of her for me, won't you? They'll send her home and I've got to get back to work. I won't be able to come with you. Not that she'd want me to, anyway."

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want," Harry said sadly.

"Give her a kiss for me; just don't tell her it's from me, okay?" Jack didn't wait for the answer to this question before he started down the hallway with the other auror jogging to catch up.

Jack had to go back to work, and Harry and Jack's parents took Lily back to Hogwarts so she could rest there. Jack stayed at the ministry for another few hours before he gathered his things and left for the day. When he got back to school, nearly everyone was already in their common rooms and the halls were deserted. He walked to the dorm he shared with Lily, and when he got there he discovered her asleep on the sofa in front of the fire. She looked troubled even in her slumber as he stood over her for a second and observed the unsteady rise and fall of her chest. He picked her small frame up easily and began walking toward her room.

"Jack," she said, beginning to wake up and protest mildly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just putting you to bed," he said painfully as he laid her out on her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

She was back asleep already. He brushed the hair out of her face and stood up straight. She looked uneasy, even now that she was in a comfortable bed, but she certainly looked better here than she had on the couch.

"I love you," he told her before he left the room. If only she was awake and would believe what he was saying, then maybe everything would be okay.

Lily found herself walking down a long isle of mourners. She recognized her surroundings as Hogwarts, but the house tables where missing. People lined both sides of the rows as she traveled towards the front of hall. She saw Luis exit the stage. A hot rage flooded her body as she saw the man who helped bring her to Malfoy walk past her to leave the building. She would have followed him if she hadn't caught sight of Jack sitting next to her father. She'd never seen him look as bad as he did right then.

She saw her father pat Jack on the back and nod his head. Jack reached and took his little brother from Harry's lap arms. Joe looked up at him through glazed over eyes, puffy with tears.

"D…do you th…think Lily is s…scared? She's all alone," Joe said, beginning to cry again.

Jack tried very hard to smile to make him feel better. "No Joe, I don't think she's scared. And she's not alone. She's with her mum and Allan. They'll take care of her for us. But she meant what she said about you. She loved you very much. Never forget that."

"I won't. I loved her too," the little boy said as Jack pulled him to his chest and both brothers sat there sobbing together.

She turned away from them, unable to watch two of the people she loved most in the world suffer anymore. Just as she did this, the scene began to change once more. When things came back into focus, she looked around to find herself at her gravesite. The only person there was Jack, still wearing the cloths he had worn at her funeral. He was kneeling down in front of the stone with her name on it.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you in my life," he said out loud and placed a hand on the headstone to keep himself from falling over in grief. "You were everything in the world to me. I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Now I won't get the chance. I heard what you said in your letter today. Luis read it to all of us. You said you wanted me to move on and be happy. I don't know how I can ever be happy without you. I don't know if I even want to try. Your death seems to have sucked all the happiness out of me. So in a sense, not only have I lost you, I've lost myself as well. I don't know what I have to do to get it back. I just want you to know that I'll spend the rest of my life loving you. I'll never forgive you for leaving me here all alone." With that, Jack stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes and walked away from the grave.

Lily tried calling for him to come back. She wanted him to know that she wasn't dead. She was right here. But no matter how hard she screamed, he just kept walking.

"NO! JACK!" Lily sat straight up in bed and reached forward as if she was meaning to embrace someone. She was sweating and shaking all over. Had she just been at her own funeral? Tears streamed down her face as she realized that she had been.

Her bedroom door flew open. "Lily, what is it?" Jack asked as he rushed into the room. When she saw him she only cried harder. He ran to her and sat in front of her on her bed, and gathered her small, suddenly fragile body against him. Much to his surprise she came into his embrace willingly and was holding on to him frantically.

"Shhh, you're alright. I've got you," he soothed her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him as close as she could. "Good God Lily, what the hell happened? What is it? Malfoy? Luis? Please talk to me," he pleaded, smoothing over her hair while trying to comfort her.

"No…It was the funeral…my funeral…I saw you there. You were holding Joe and you both were crying…then I saw you at my grave…you told me you'd never forgive me for leaving you," she recalled, shedding more tears that fell onto his gray shirt.

Jack's eyes welled up at the memory of that day. Perhaps that's what was bothering him so much. He'd gone through that once, he didn't want to have to go through it again, especially when it didn't look like she wanted to fight to stay with him any longer.

"That was the worst day of my life," he said still holding her. After a few minutes he took her by the shoulders and looked down into her tear stricken face. "All I did was stare are your casket throughout the entire funeral service. The only thing that I could think of was that I was never going to hold you in my arms again." Tears slid down his slightly tan cheeks as he looked her square in the eye and wiping her own tears off her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

She stared up at him and shook her head. Pulling away from him and standing up, she walked several feet away from him and turned back with a solemn expression.

"That's why I have to do this. I will not cause you anymore pain, Jack."

He stood up and walked over to her, "Lily, listen to me--"

"No, you listen," she interrupted heatedly. She took a breath and returned her voice to normal before she spoke again. "Jack, I love you. I love everything about you. I have never known anything but you and you've never known anything but me. I think we just need some time apart to know if this is for real or not."

"What else could it be if it's not real?" Jack asked, still standing in front of her but not moving to touch her.

"Comfortable?" She suggested. "Familiar? Convenient?"

"Being with you is anything but convenient," Jack muttered bitterly. He walked back and sat on the bed, looking sorely defeated.

"I can't relay on you for everything anymore, Jack. I need to stand on my own two feet for once."

"So that's it then?" he asked, looking up at her in disbelief. "Three years of our lives down the drain?"

"This is something I have to do," she reiterated.

Jack stood up and walked over to the window. Looking out into the night on the grounds of Hogwarts, he knew nothing would change her mind. He could tell that by the sound of her voice.

"How long?" he asked, turning around.

"I don't know."

"Are you coming back?"

"I don't know."

"You're expecting me to wait around for you to go find yourself?" he asked, glaring at her.

"I would never expect you to wait. Maybe this will be good for you too. You can…see other people and maybe even someone who you discover you love more than you love me."

He opened his mouth to say something but quickly thought better of it. He walked over to her, stood almost right on top of her, and looked down into her tear-filled eyes. "Maybe you're right."

She had to look away at the sharpness of his words. There was a whoosh of air and she knew he'd walked past her to the door. She stood there long after his footsteps stopped, staring into the darkness and wondering if she'd made the right decision.

For the next several days all the people in Lily's life approached her on their own to plead with her not to go. Her father came and talked to her again, though this time he seemed to somewhat understand her reasoning by the time their discussion was over. Ron was so disgusted that he'd walked out on her completely. They hadn't spoken since. Hermione tried very hard to hold back her tears. She expressed her fear that they were loosing her the same way they lost Harry. Lily tried to assure her that it wasn't the end of the world. She was just going away for a little while.

Her conversation with Ginny was the worst. Both of them dissolved to tears. Lily promised to come back to see the baby when he or she was born and she swore to write as much as she possibly could. Ginny wasn't happy in the slightest, but Harry helped her see that there was no changing Lily's mind. All they could do now was be supportive and hope that she finds her way home before too long.

Lily and Jack hadn't spoken since the night they "officially" ended things. Jack avoided her at all costs, even going as far as to sleep on the sofa in his parent's quarters for several nights.

When they were forced to be near each other, at meals and such, he wouldn't look at her. He wouldn't talk to her. And for the most part he tried very hard to imagine she wasn't even there.

Slowly Lily began to wish the 15th would arrive sooner so she wouldn't have to see the look of disappointment on his face. She knew she'd hurt him. But for once, she had to do something on her own. She knew she couldn't love him properly if she didn't have enough respect and love for herself. She just wished he could see it too.

The dawn of March 15th was misty and unseasonably cold. Lily stood in her bedroom with several duffle bags open on her bed. She walked around the room quickly, placing various items into the different bags. She was leaving her trunk and some other things for her father to take care of until she found a flat in America. It was just after five in the morning and she was due to be at the ministry in half an hour.

Once she had all her things packed, she stopped and took a moment to look around. It was hard to believe her time at Hogwarts was over. This was the first place that ever felt like home. It was the first place she ever felt like she belonged. These walls had given her so many happy memories and now she was leaving. It was almost too hard to believe.

She didn't know now long she stood there, but a knock at her door brought her out of her trance. Thinking for sure it was her father coming to help her take all her things to the ministry, she simply said loudly, "Door's open! I'll be ready in just a minute, Dad." She stood with her back to the door while zipping up her last bag.

"That's nice, but I'm not Harry."

Lily dropped the bag and whirled around quickly. In seconds she was face to face with Jack Weasley for the first time in days. "Jack…I…you surprised me. I wasn't expecting you to…"

He almost smiled at her stuttering. "I know you weren't expecting me to come say goodbye. I spoke to your dad and he agreed to let me take you to the ministry."

"Oh," she said, once again surprised. "You don't have to…if you don't want to."

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to," he said shortly.

She turned around and picked up one of her bags. "Okay, I'm ready to go then."

Jack however didn't move, however. "Don't you want to go say goodbye to everyone?"

She hesitated before she spoke. "I…um…I'm not good with goodbyes, Jack. You know that. I'm planning on writing them all letters when I get the chance. I just think its better this way."

Jack stared blankly before he nodded and picked up two of her bags. They left the dorm room and walked down the hallway in silence. It was still early and the castle was for the most part empty. Along the way they passed a cat scampering along the wall in hot pursuit of something to eat. An owl flew by just before they headed out the doors by the great hall and out into the cold morning air.

"What will you do?" Lily asked after the silence began to bother her.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, looking down at her.

"I mean after the year is over," she clarified. "What will you do? Will you still work for the department?"

"I'm not sure," he said honestly. "I was offered a position here,actually."

"Here? At Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, teaching flying lessons and refereeing Quidditch."

"Jack, that would be wonderful for you! You love Qudditch!"

"Yeah it would, wouldn't it?" he smiled at the excitement that appeared in her eyes.

"You'll have to write me and tell me how the final goes," she said, referring to the current Qudditch season. The Gryffindor team was set to play the Ravenclaw team for the title in two weeks.

"I will," Jack promised. They were almost to the gates now; almost to the point where he'd apparate with her to the ministry. Once they were there he'd have to say goodbye.

He knew he'd have to let her go. But before that time came, he knew he had some things he needed to say. He stopped walking and gently took hold of her arm to stop her from advancing as well. "Lily, can we talk for a minute?"

She sighed and nodded her head. If anything, she at least owed him an explanation if that's what he needed. "Sure." She set her bag down and watched him set down his two as well.

He looked down and took a deep breath. "I can't say that I understand why you're doing this," he began solemnly. "I can't stand here and say that I'm not angry as hell."

"I'm not asking you to understand, Jack."

He looked up and met her eyes. "I can't say that I don't feel like I'm being left behind. And I'm not quite sure how to handle all that at the moment."

"Do you hate me for it?" she asked quietly. Tears rimmed her eyes and the gentle breeze lifted some of the hair off her shoulders. When a few strands blew across her face, he fought the urge to brush them away.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you this before you'll believe me. Noting you could ever do would ever make me hate you. But I'd be a liar if I told you this doesn't change things. And I'd also be a liar if I told you that I thought we could still be friends after all this." He watched her swallow and look away from him. He was almost glad for it. He didn't think he would have been able to go on if he had to continue looking at her. "I know I promised you in the beginning that we'd always be friends no matter what. But we were both naïve to think that would ever work."

He waited for a second, thinking that maybe she'd have something to say. But she didn't. She remained silent as she looked off back at Hogwarts Castle behind them.

"I can promise you this," he stated resolutely, "If you go through with this, then it's really over between us. That will be it. I won't be here when you come back. I learned to love you very quickly. I'm only hoping I can unlearn all that just as fast."

Her chest rose and fell quickly as her eyes slid shut in a vane attempt to hold in the tears she knew she was powerless to stop. She knew he was speaking so cruelly because he was hurting, but that didn't make the words easier to hear.

"I understand that, Jack," she said finally with her voice shaky as ever and her eyes still closed. "I'm sorry you feel that way. But I can't go on like this anymore. I need to take care of myself for once."

"That's your problem," he said in a voice just above a whisper. "You've always felt like you should be self-sufficient and be able to hold yourself up. Sometimes you need to let people help you."

"I can't change who I am. But I can promise you something as well," she said opening her eyes and looking at him. "I will never stop loving you."

He nodded his head and bent down to pick up the bags again but she reached forward and tool hold of his hands before he could grab hold of them. He looked up at her with a confused expression and she simply shook her head.

"Be happy, Jack. Promise me that?"

He paused for a breath and said uneasily, "I promise."

"I can take it from here," she said, picking up her bags that were lying in front of him.

"No, Lily, let me take you to the ministry," he said, trying to take the heavy bags back from her.

She shook her head and took a set away. "You've done enough," she said softly. "But I can take it from here. Goodbye Jack."

His mouth opened but he couldn't say the words. Saying them would make them real. He wasn't ready for reality just yet. Lily waited for a second before turning her back on him and walking towards the gate.

She supposed it was only fitting. Jack belonged to a part of her life that no longer existed. Perhaps he even represented a version of herself that was no longer there. Every step she took away from him was another step towards what she hoped would finally be true happiness. She thought she had happiness before, but she knew this time she'd have to find it within herself before looking for it in someone else.

She looked up at the red sky coming alive with the colors of the dawn. Something caused her to smile in spite of the intense sadness she felt at leaving so much behind. The gates of Hogwarts drew closer and she knew that whatever lay on the other side would only be as good as she made it out to be.

A/N- So...what did you think? Do you hate me yet? I bet you do! As I said before, this is it for this part of the story. The third installment, and hopefully the last, will be called Revealing Destiny. I'm hoping to have the first chapter out in a few weeks (cross your fingers). In the meantime I'd like to thank my wonderful beta for doing what she does best. And I'd also like to thank all of you for sticking with me! Please take the time to drop me a line and let me know what you thought of the story and this chapter. Thanks guys!