"Is he freaking out?" James demanded, a little too excitedly. Sirius had rushed into his room only a few moments prior to inform James and Lily that Frank was in the process of finding out his ex-girlfriend was pregnant.

"This isn't funny!" Lily scolded her boyfriend, slapping his arm.

"Oh come on Evans, admit it, you're a little intrigued too," Sirius smirked. Lily glared at him now too, arms crossed like a mother about to tell her children off for misbehaving.

"Those are our friends," she reminded the pair. "Not some science experiment to giggle at."

James and Sirius shared expression of perplexed confusion. "Science experiment?" they asked one another.

"Did anyone but Remus pay attention in Muggle Studies!?" Lily howled furiously as she approached the door.

"No," Sirius answered quite honestly from behind her.

James remained in his bedroom, snickering to his best friend. "She's right you know," he finally fessed up. "We should probably be a little more concerned."

"Well, one thing is for certain," Sirius said, shrugging. "We'll leave with a bang."

James clapped his friend on the back as the two boys followed Lily from the room and down the hall towards the boys dormitory. Lily wasn't the only one who'd found her way up there. It felt as though everyone had gathered around the door, pressing their ears to it for a good listen.

"Shameless," Sirius shook his head at the group with faux disappointment. "These are our friends," he reminded them all. "Not some…experiment."

"Shut up, Black!" Emmeline scowled. "You'll get us caught."

"Someone should go in," Lily worried, stepping forward to volunteer herself. "Make sure everything is okay…"

"The last thing they want is someone else in there right now," James took his girlfriend's hand, holding her back. "Give them some time."

"Does anyone else feel like it's gotten a little too quiet in—"

Fabian didn't have time to finish his sentence before the door to the dormitory flew open, Fabian, Mary and Emmeline practically falling into the room. Alice stood in the doorway, a gloomy expression upon her usually cheerful face.

"Seriously?" she demanded, not a hint of humour in her voice.

"We just wanted to be sure you were okay!" Lily tried to assure her. It was no use. Frank had come up behind Alice's shoulder now, watching the group of them with the same disbelief.

"Oh, we're perfect," Alice promised them all, the sarcasm in her tone overwhelming. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed, unless you'd all like to follow me there as well."

The group cleared a path so quickly you'd think they'd been hexed to do so. Alice went rushing off down the hall, the sound of her feet rushing down the stairs echoing up in the silence.

"You're sure it was Cecily?" Frank asked, his eyes on Emmeline.

"Yeah," she nodded, the glee in her eyes no longer present. "Frank, I'm sorry—"

"You should have told me first," he replied coldly.

"I didn't tell her!"

Everyone's eyes seemed to travel around the group, searching for the culprit whom Frank would surely kill with his nasty glare.

"I did," Remus informed him. "I thought it would be best for you to hear the news from her."

"No." James didn't think he'd ever seen Frank so furious, except, perhaps, for the night he'd found out about Alice and Everett. This was a close second, though. "It would have been best if I'd had time to digest the news before she found out. That didn't matter to any of you, though? Did it?"

James turned his gaze away, refusing to make eye contact with Frank. He'd only found out about Cecily's pregnancy five minutes ago, he didn't care to earn any heavy glares from Frank's direction.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," Frank stated finally, slamming the door in their faces. They all stood there, quiet as mice, their heads bowed.

"He knows we're all supposed to sleep in there tonight, right?" Gideon asked with a hint of humour.


Marlene waited on the landing outside of Ravenclaw tower, at the top of the spiral staircase leading to it. There was a small bench rested outside, presumably placed for any unlikely students who failed to answer the riddles one night.

Marlene rested on it now, her feet tapping upon the floor anxiously, her hands clasped between her knees as she waited. It'd only been about five minutes but it felt to her like an hour she'd been sitting outside the tower.

With her breath held, she watched the door before her fly open, a lanky teenage girl emerging.

"Marlene?" Joni Fawley asked with surprise. Her silky brown hair was slicked back behind her shoulders and her thin-framed, circular glasses sat perched on the edge of her nose. Marlene had been terrified of needing glasses at Joni's age but she thought the young witch pulled them off quite well. Every movement Joni made carried an air of sophistication.

"All these months we've lived so close together and I just realized tonight that I…I've never taken the time to come visit with you."

Joni stood in front of her, arms crossed, face stern. The last time she'd been greeted by Joni it'd been with joy and excitement at the Fawley's Christmas dinner. Now, well, she was certain she'd fallen out of favour with Henry's younger sister.

"I, um…saw you with that guy today," Joni announced, staring down at Marlene with disapproval. She'd been afraid of that.

It was easy for her friends to be excited. Their loyalty was to Sirius, not Henry. Marlene supposed Joni saw right through the whole façade. Two months her brother had been dead and here Marlene was, strolling around the castle with another guy's jumper on.

"I know it's not fair of me to be mad at you for moving on." Joni leant back against the door behind her, staring at something hanging on the wall above Marlene's head. "I still miss him every day…I see him in everything I do. I just can't understand how you could forget like that."

Joni stared down at Marlene with disappointment. She'd had failed her. Marlene had been her ally in the castle walls, the only other person here who understood her grief, and she'd had positively abandoned her. Henry's little sister…

"I miss him too," Marlene assured her, clearing her throat to help rid herself of the lump filling it. "I loved him, Joni—"

"You've got a strange way of showing it," the young girl scoffed.

"You're right," Marlene nodded, sitting up a little straighter. "It was selfish of me, shagging Sirius before Henry's even been gone more than two months. This whole death thing…it's new for me too, Joni. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to miss him and still feel happy myself. I haven't a clue when I'm allowed to move on." Perhaps Joni could sense the panic in Marlene's tone because for the first time in their conversation she looked at her with something other than disdain.

A glimmer of sympathy flashed through her green eyes. "I'm sorry," Joni apologized, tears shimmering behind her circular frames. "It's just…when I saw you with him this morning…" the young witch wrapped her arms around herself, as though for protection. "It reminded me that he's gone," Joni confessed. "You're not his girl anymore. You never will be again…"

"Come here," Marlene said, sliding across the bench to make space for Joni. She plopped down into the seat, leaning into Marlene's right side. Marlene wrapped her arm around Joni's shoulder, giving her a tight squeeze.

"I'm always going to be his girl," she promised her, pressing a kiss to Joni's temple. "When I'm twenty-three or sixty-four, there's going to be a part of me that forever belongs to Henry. You have to know that Joni."

The young girl snuffled back tears in Marlene's arms. Here she'd been, sulking around the castle, feeling sorry for herself all the time. It'd been so wrong. Not once had she stopped to think about the young girl who'd lost her big brother.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye," Joni admitted, clutching to Marlene's t-shirt as her body shook with tears. "There's still so much he's supposed to do. He was going to help train me for the Quidditch tryouts this summer. He was going to take me on a big trip around Europe. So I could see the Eiffel tower and tour all the biggest castles in every country."

Marlene stared down at Joni with a frown, stroking her long brown hair.

"I was so excited for the future and now it feels like mine is gone with his."

It was perhaps the most heartbreaking thing Marlene could see come out of all this tragedy. She sat there, with Joni shaking in her arms, and realized the price of all the promises people make. No one knows what will come tomorrow or the pain a few words can bring. All Henry had wanted to do was make his baby sister happy, to see the world with her. Here she sat now, only thirteen and broken. Marlene wanted to hold her so tight she absorbed all the pain.

"I'm never going to see him again." Joni cried so hard Marlene feared she might break a rib. "He's not going to send me packages filled with Honeydukes candies or slip me his glass of wine from across the table."

Marlene couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes as she listened to Joni's sorrow. What was worse? The young girl was right. What could Marlene possibly do to make up for the fact that her brother would never again grin at her from across the dinner table or tease her till she scowled?

Marlene's vision blurred as she sat there, Henry's handsome grin so present in her memories. The glisten of his eyes. The way he'd hold her in his arms whenever she was close by. Marlene missed him, god she missed him. It didn't matter – Sirius or not – Henry had been the first guy she'd ever really trusted.

"You know what he'd do if he was here right now?" Marlene said, holding back her own tears. "He'd kneel right here in front of you, with that look in his eyes. The one that always let you know he knew best what would help." Marlene got a tiny laugh from Joni, her face still buried in Marlene's shirt. "He'd look you right in the eyes and tell you that everything was going to be just fine." A wobbly smile made it's way across Marlene's face. "And somehow, no matter how hopeless you felt, you'd know he was right."

Finally, Joni lifted her tear stained face from its spot, buried in Marlene shirt, the slightest hint of a smile upon her shaking lips. "Yeah," she nodded, "he would."


Mary was supposed to be asleep. They all had an early morning. The train left at ten, which meant they all needed to be down on the platform by nine thirty at the latest. It wasn't unusual for Mary to face the end of the year with dread – she'd never found much joy in returning home – but this year was worse than most. This was her last year ever.

She rolled over with a heavy sigh, staring at Emmeline in the bed across from her. Her curtains were drawn back, unlike Alice's bed. Marlene still wasn't back from wherever the hell she'd wandered off to for the evening. Mary was a little disappointed her friend wasn't around to gush to about the night's dramatics.

"Em," Mary whispered across to her friend. "Emmy!"

"Sleeping," Emmeline grumbled back.

Mary climbed out from under her covers and tiptoed to her friend's bed, joining her on the tightly squeezed twin mattress. "I can't fall asleep."

"Close your eyes and count sheep," Emmeline instructed unhelpfully.

Mary wrapped her arms around her friend. With the pair cuddling, there was more room offered between them. "I'm scared," Mary admitted, her voice trembling the slightest. "I don't know what I'm doing, Em…"

Emmeline didn't respond for a few seconds. Mary worried that her friend had fallen asleep again but then she turned over, her violet eyes facing Mary. "About what?" she asked – much more awake.

"Leaving Hogwarts. This Order business." Mary hadn't been able to stop worrying about their meeting in Dumbledore's office all day. She knew most of her friends felt certain about what they planned to do – they would fight – but she wasn't so sure. It wasn't as easy for Mary to give up all the things she held most dear for a war…

"What about the Order?" Emmeline asked with concern.

"Em, I…" Mary's gaze fell, her lips shaking. She was afraid to admit the truth. She knew what it might mean; her best friend might never look at her the same. "I don't think I can do it."

"Do what? Fight? Mary, you're a great fighter—"

"I mean, leaving all those things behind. Sacrificing. Putting myself in danger. What about Reg?"

Emmeline sat up suddenly, staring down at Mary in shock. "What about him? We've all got people we're worried about Mary—"

"I know that!" she assured her friend, their voices beginning to rise along with the room's tension. "It's just…when Dorcas and Maureen were talking about all those things you have to give up for war..." Mary pressed the base of her palms into her eyes, her words mushing together in a big mess. "They're all the things I am holding on to for dear life, Em. Love. Family. Stability."

"You can have that all," Emmeline assured her. "Once the fighting is over it'll be waiting for you—"

"You can't promise that!"

What the bloody hell is going on?" Alice demanded from her bed, yanking back the curtains with a heavy glare.

"Mary's decided this war isn't quite important enough for her," Emmeline declared bitterly.

"I haven't!" Mary shot up from her comfortable position, her incredulous glance travelling from Emmeline to Alice. "You won't listen to me—"

"Shit," Alice cursed, catching everyone's attention. "It's one in the bloody morning."

"Fine." Emmeline took a breath. "Explain it to me."

"I never had any of this, okay? I never had a home or a family. I didn't get that. I've never felt I had a place to feel safe. I have to take care of people. I have to be there for Patrick and for Reg. I don't want to be running into harm's way every day, never sure if I'll live or die, bringing danger with me everywhere I go."

"As though that's what anyone wants!" Emmeline snapped furiously. She leapt off her bed, seemingly too angry to sit still, pacing the room. "No one asks for a war Mary, it just lands in your bloody lap. If we didn't fight it, if soldiers didn't exist, we'd never have the lives we do now."

"You can't shame me for wanting a different path." The truth did little to stop Mary from feeling positively shameful for her behaviour. She wasn't a coward; at least she'd never considered herself one. She wanted a better world – especially when it was people like her being hunted down and dragged from their beds in the dead of the night. She just couldn't fight, not the way her friends wanted her to at least. Not when she had so much at stake. When she'd promised Patrick to stay safe for him. When she'd just found Reg…

"There's a reason they've given us time to think about this, Emmeline," Alice finally joined in. She came over and sat beside Mary on the edge of Emmeline's bed, her eyes weary with sleep. "If Mary doesn't want to join that's her choice."

"No!" Emmeline bellowed, finally stopping in her tracks. She turned to Mary with a searing look in her eyes. Never had Mary seen her friend so furious. "It…it's not just a choice. She's deciding that we're not important to her, aren't you, Mary?"

"Of course not—"

"YOU ARE!" There was no reasoning with Emmeline at this point. "You don't want to fight with us, don't you see what that means? You'd rather stay safe in your home with your boyfriend. While we're out dying! Putting our lives at risk to offer you that safety!"

"You can't blame her for not wanting to fight, Emmeline!" Alice hollered in Mary's defence. "It's her life, not yours. Why on earth are you taking this so personally—"

"What if Frank refused?" Emmeline demanded with her arms crossed.

Mary's heart was pounding. She pressed her hand to her chest, startled by its speed, fearful it might just burst.

"That's beyond the point, Emmeline—"

"Don't hop around the bloody question, Griffith, if Frank refused, said he didn't want to do it cause it was too dangerous, would you let him off the hook?"

The silence in the room was deafening. Mary drew her knees up to her chest, clutching them tightly. She'd thought crawling into Emmeline's bed would lead her to comfort. Perhaps she wouldn't like Mary's decision but she would support it. This anger, this utter disdain for her choice, was shocking.

"Frank is my husband," Alice clarified, standing tall. "Our priorities need to be in line. That's the reason we're together. Why don't you cut to the chase, Emmeline? Why are you so mad at Mary for not wanting to join the Order?"

Emmeline ran her hands through her long hair, looking about ready to pull it out. "It's weak!" she finally spat out. "It's the most cowardly thing you could have ever decided to do."

The words settled between them, thick as a humid summer's day. Mary struggled to swallow her throat was so dry. She stared across the room waiting for an apology; a hint Emmeline understood how wrong her words had been.

"You can't mean that," Alice finally spoke up for Mary.

"I do," Emmeline, confirmed, lacking the confidence she'd had in previous statements, "I think it's wrong."

It didn't matter what anyone said after that, Mary could hear only one word ringing through her head. Coward.


Marlene was exhausted after what felt like hours she'd spent outside of Ravenclaw tower with Joni. The two girls had sat there for much longer than Marlene had expected. After the tears and dramatics had subsided they'd just chatted. Mostly, the pair had shared memories of Henry. It'd been nice. While her friends never minded Marlene speaking about Henry, they didn't share the same connection she had with him.

Marlene yawned as she mumbled the password to the Fat Lady. She was sure she'd gotten it completely wrong but out of pure sympathy, the portrait hole swung open. Marlene couldn't believe this was the last night she'd ever make the slow travel up to her dorm room and slide beneath her covers.

Of course, it didn't quite happen that quickly. Instead of travelling across the Common Room to the stairs she was stopped in her tracks by the sight of Sirius, passed out on the couch, the embers of a fire burning before him.

Marlene moved towards the end of the couch, taking a moment to appreciate the pure beauty of the scene. Sirius fast asleep, his shaggy hair covering his eyes. He had a Kurt Vonnegut novel flattening out across his chest, suggesting he'd fallen asleep in the process of reading it.

Marlene side stepped around the coffee table, perching herself on the edge of the couch, her hands rested in her lap. Marlene realized if she were a true romantic she'd lean in and wake him with a kiss. In reality, she found the idea a bit odd and semi-creepy. Instead, she gave his shoulder a slight squeeze, Sirius rousing from his sleep.

"Where were you?" he asked, jumping into an upright position.

"Caroline and Alec took me out for a late lunch," she explained. "And then I…took care of some stuff."

"That sounds worrisome," Sirius noted with his eyebrow arched. Marlene rolled her eyes, leaning in towards him.

"Hello," Sirius said softly, their lips meeting. His hands came around Marlene's waist, pulling her up to lie right across him. She hoped to god no one came accidentally wandering down the stairs. She figured they were safe at this time of night.

She couldn't think straight when Sirius was around, even less so when his tongue was in her mouth. It made her go crazy. Her thoughts got all cloudy and her skin tingled with pleasure. His hands grasped at her breasts, above the fabric of her cotton blouse. It was like he was purposely trying to torture her, his mouth tracing the terrain of her neck. His hands travelling down to her ass, grabbing it tightly.

"Stop, stop!" Marlene protested. Finding some small ounce of self-control left within her, she pulled away, breathing heavily.

"I've never gotten that response before," Sirius noted playfully.

"We need to talk," Marlene stated, very clear minded in that moment. She leant back, sitting right on his crotch, an action she knew would only torture him for the next few minutes she remained there.

"Talk," Sirius urged her, clearly wanting this conversation over as soon as possible.

"We're leaving school tomorrow, mostly I just…I mean, what the hell is the plan here?"

"The plan?"

Marlene stared at him like he was a total idiot, motioning between the two of them. "Us, Black. You gave me a whole speech a week ago about how bloody serious you were—"

"I remember!" He assured her. "What're you playing at then, McKinnon?"

Marlene sighed heavily, her hands tangling in the ends of her short hair as she ran her fingers through it.

"What?" Sirius prompted her.

Marlene hoisted herself up from her spot on top of him, moving towards the opposite end of the couch. She pressed her face into her palms, her elbows propped up on her knees, and suddenly she began to cry.

Sirius appeared so startled by the sound he leapt up and slid to her side immediately. "Hey," he calmed her, "what're you doing? What's going on here?" His arm wrapped awkwardly around her shoulder, Marlene not shifting the slightest.

"Sirius I…I…" she hiccupped out the words. "Oh, bloody hell, you know how I feel don't you?" She finally gave up impatiently. Her glossy eyes shifted towards Sirius, who nodded solemnly.

"Yeah," he assured her. "Of course."

"Last night it was…" Brilliant? World altering? The best damn thing that had happened to her in months?

"Stop," Sirius told her, turning his head away. "I know what's happening here, okay? Just…" He fell backwards into the couch, a defeated expression wore upon his face. "I um…I get it. I fucked up. It's too late—"

"I don't want it to be," Marlene told him, shaking her head so tears went flying from her rosy cheeks in every direction. Sirius seemed to perk up after that.

"No?"

Marlene curled her feet beneath her, shifting on the couch so she faced Sirius in full. Her hand reached out, stroking some of his dark hair behind his ear. It felt so good being able to do that. To hold him in her gaze without fear of being noticed.

"I went to visit Joni," she explained, her fit of tears passed like a late evening storm. "Henry's sister."

"Right…"

"There're some things I need to do," Marlene continued, the words strangling her as she shoved them out. "For Henry."

"What does that mean?" Sirius didn't seem to understand what had become so clear to Marlene that very evening.

"I'm going to take her on a trip for the summer like Henry was planning to. I'm going to take her all around Europe and show her the world, teach her how to play a good game of Quidditch. Take her mind off Henry's absence." Marlene felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders getting the words out.

She'd realized what she had to do the moment Joni had broken down in her arms. If she wanted to be happy she had to make sure Henry would be too. This was what he would have wanted. To see Joni get everything she deserved out of the world.

"Okay," Sirius nodded agreeably. "I don't understand the crying…?"

"I'm going to be gone three months," Marlene finally explained. "The whole summer. I…I owe her that much. I think it'll be good for his parents too. I don't want them all to be stuck around the house in grief. I want Joni to at least get to see and do all the things she wanted to before…"

"Three months?" Sirius asked in dismay. "Why not a month? You can see a whole lot of Europe in a month—" he shut up the minute he caught sight of Marlene's pointed expression.

"I'm going to do this Sirius," she announced stubbornly.

"So you're going to shag me like that and just run off?" he teased her.

"I want to do this right," Marlene explained. "I don't want to leave Hogwarts and just fuck everything up the way I have for the past seven years."

"What about the Order?" Sirius questioned her.

"I'm going to join," she assured him, "when I get back."

"After three months?"

"I don't expect you to wait for me." Marlene had thought long and hard about that one (during the fifteen-minute walk she'd had back to Gryffindor tower). She couldn't ask him to wait. It wasn't fair. If she was going to leave without giving him a choice she wasn't allowed to demand any favours.

"Okay, now what the hell does that mean?" Sirius grumbled, irritation seeming to bubble to the surface. Marlene looked at him, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted him so badly. She didn't think she'd ever wanted anything in life as bad as she wanted Sirius.

"It means…" Marlene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was hard to keep her breathing steady when every word that slipped from her mouth burnt.

"What if I came with you?" he suggested. "We don't have to just throw this all away Marls, not when we're just starting to get our shit together."

"You can't come," Marlene told him honestly, no matter the bitter taste the words left in her mouth. "If you come then this isn't for Henry or Joni, it's for me. I can't be selfish. Not with Henry and not with you. Not anymore, it isn't fair. So, I'm going to go, okay? And when I come back…maybe things won't be the same and that's okay. I'm not going to hold it against you, Sirius. Not anymore."

Marlene stood up and walked towards the dormitory stairs with measured steps. It was as though she were walking through molasses, her legs trying so hard to stay in place, to stop her from walking away from what she really wanted.

"Why?" Sirius called after her, once she'd reached the first step. Why couldn't anything just be easy between them?

Marlene looked over her shoulder, her vision blurred with tears, her stomach clenched. "Because," she answered simply, "I love you."


Lily woke up in her own bed for the last time. She suddenly regretted how much she'd neglected this room throughout her seventh year, spending so much time in James' room. It'd been nice of course, getting those nights with him, but Lily hadn't really appreciated the beauty of her own dorm room during seventh year.

It felt like the hardest morning of her life. Waking up, staring across the room at her packed up trunk, watching Apollo fluttering around in her cage. The room looked so bare. No clothes were strewn around. No homework left to stare at in contempt.

Lily dressed in the clothes she'd left out for herself for the train ride home, letting every motion take as long as possible. She had one hour left in this castle and she was going to draw it out as long as she could.

She'd left her robe hanging up in the wardrobe, pulling it out with a lump in the back of her throat. She'd thought it silly to pack it up with the rest of her things. She was never going to wear it again now, was she?

The Head Girl pin was still latched on to the right breast, Lily smiling nostalgically at it. For six years she'd prayed one day she might get the honour to be Head Girl, she'd never really appreciated the fact that she'd truly done it.

Lily undid the pin, resting it on the bedside table. The House Elves would find it, return it to Dumbledore, and a new girl would take up her place next year. Perhaps she'd fill the post better than Lily had. She hoped not, though.

There was a soft tap at the door and then it swung open, Marlene stepping inside.

"Hey you," Lily greeted her, clearing her throat so her friend couldn't tell how close she'd been to tears.

"Have you been in there?" Marlene asked, motioning back to the girls' room. She shut the door behind her. "I missed something last night. No one is talking. Mary looks like she spent the whole night crying."

"Well, I know Alice told Frank Cecily's pregnant?"

"WHAT?" Marlene gawked.

"That's what happens when you miss a whole evening 'round here," Lily grinned.

Marlene collapsed on Lily's unmade bed, stretching out on her back. Lily felt like she was supposed to be doing something. Packing. Finishing homework. There was nothing, though. Not anymore. Instead, she joined Marlene, the two friends lying side by side.

"Everything's going to change," Marlene stated, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It feels like it already has." Lily stared up at her ceiling, tracing its white border. Memorizing its cracks and creases. What a wonderful room this had been for such an interesting year.

"Lily," Marlene began in a tone of voice that promised no good. Lily turned her head from the ceiling to Marlene, watching her friend apprehensively. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Lily cried, jumping up into a sitting position. She stared down at Marlene in horror. Her best friend could not be leaving. It wasn't allowed, especially not when everything already felt so undetermined.

"I'm taking Joni on a trip through Europe," Marlene informed her. "I'll be gone three months."

"Why on earth are you doing this to me?" Lily whined like a child not given permission to buy their favourite toy.

"I've been such an idiot, Lil." Marlene sat up as well, taking Lily's hands in her own. "I went to visit her last night and I realized how wrong I've been. All this time I thought no one understood what I was going through and Henry's little sister has been in this castle, hurting more than I ever could."

Lily frowned. She could only imagine what his little sister was experiencing. No matter how much she and Petunia fought, how strongly Lily wished she were an only child sometimes, she was still her sister. Lily felt sick thinking about her dying; being murdered no less. She didn't think she'd ever forgive herself for all these wasted years…

"I have to do this. Not just for her, but him too. I don't just get to walk away like he never touched my life, you know? That makes sense, doesn't it?"

"I get it," Lily nodded. "I hate that I get it...but I do." Then her stomach dropped with a sudden dread. "What about Sirius?"

"I told him," Marlene sighed, not looking terribly pleased. "I can't make him a priority," she admitted. "Not now, at least. I need to take some time focusing on someone other than myself."

"Merlin's beard, two hours into being a graduate and you're already speaking like a fully matured adult."

Marlene smiled smugly, shrugging. "I can't help being so thoughtful, can I?"

"Okay, let's go, my great poet, I'm starving."

And for the last time, Lily guided her friend down towards the Great Hall.


Students who were bustling with excitement to get home for their summer holidays surrounded James. Passing around information so they could send each other letters, Muggleborns sharing some kind of special contact number.

"Trunks here!" Filch was yelling at them all. "Let's go! We don't have all day here!" Mrs Norris purred at his feet.

James was feeling very nostalgic, staring around the familiar courtyard, before Sirius leapt on his back, startling him.

"We are officially, done!" He hollered proudly.

"It's a shock you two weren't expelled before you could do it."

"It's a shock you weren't buried in library books before the end of the year," Sirius snapped right back at Remus. James chuckled at his friends, Peter smiling along.

"We're all going to be split up now," Peter sighed. "It's not going to be the same anymore…"

"Oh, don't look so glum Wormtail," James comforted his friend, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "We'll stick together, we're The Marauders after all."

"Yeah, not to mention we'll all be in the Order," Sirius shrugged. "No way anyone could split the four of us up even if they tried."

"Oh god. You mean I'm stuck with you guys for the rest of my life?" Remus tried to look repulsed by the idea but it was impossible to hide his love for his friends. James gave his hair a ruffle.

"Don't pretend you aren't positively thrilled with the idea, Moony."

"Oh! I was hoping to find you four before you left," Professor McGonagall enthused, coming up behind them. She smiled down from behind her spectacles, somehow still appearing stern despite the kind gesture.

"Couldn't stand not getting one last look could you, Minerva?" Sirius teased, batting his eyelashes. He'd always known how to get her riled up.

"My apologies, did I say you four? I'm quite pleased to see you going, Black."

Sirius swatted away the insult as though he'd never heard it.

"You and Potter will forever be in my memory."

"It's our good looks, isn't it?" James quipped.

"I've never seen two students earn themselves so many detentions in seven years in all my career." Remus and Peter laughed hysterically. "It'll be quite a disappointment not having anyone to help me with menial tasks during the afternoons next year."

"So, you will miss us?" Sirius prompted her.

"In the smallest way, I suppose." James and Sirius high-fived proudly.

"Remus, you promise you'll let Dumbledore know if you have any trouble with work?" McGonagall asked, her voice taking on a more serious tone. Remus squirmed embarrassedly. James knew the topic was one, which, as the end of the school year approached, was of high anxiety for his friend. It wasn't easy to find work when you were a werewolf once a month…

"Oh, don't worry about me, Professor…"

"Nonsense. You're one of the brightest students we've had the pleasure of teaching at this school Remus, all of your teachers agree. We'd all be more than willing to make sure you have an easy time settling down."

"The last carriage is leaving in ten minutes!" Filch instructed them all snappily. "Get on or you're spending the summer here!"

"I should let you four go," McGonagall smiled. "Stay out of trouble now!"

"What would be the fun in that, professor?" Sirius called after her, McGonagall giving him one last scowl before disappearing into the castle.

"You get in one last flirting session with McGonagall, Black?" Fabian asked as he and Everett approached the group.

"Oh, you bet."

"I can't believe this is it," Fabian sighed, staring up at the castle walls which surrounded them.

"For you guys," Everett frowned. "I've still got one year left in this place."

"Yeah, but you get a whole summer with me," Fabian informed his boyfriend, making eyes at him. James knew in that moment he probably wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss him but, alas, they pair rarely showed any signs of PDA in front of the school population. It was easier for them to keep things under wraps while at school.

"Make the most of your last year," James told him. "You'll miss this place."

"Emergency!" Gideon proclaimed, running from the castle doors and towards the group.

"We have literally ten minutes left on these grounds, please tell me you're kidding?" Fabian complained.

"Frank is gone! His trunk, his things, his body."

"He probably already got in a carriage—"

"No, no, no," Gideon shook his head. "He's been gone since this morning. I noticed when I went to breakfast but I thought I'd see him down there."

"And Alice?"

"Lily mentioned the girls were acting really strange at breakfast?" James informed them all.

"On that note, where are the girls?"

"Okay, I know we're all really going to miss this place, but I wasn't banking on spending my whole life here," Peter told them, his eyes travelling towards the last line of carriages.


Alice had expected many things out of her final day at Hogwarts. Tears. Goodbyes. Long hugs. Possibly a few dramatics. She'd gotten a little more than she'd bargained for.

She'd missed breakfast because she'd woken up late after a long night. Even then, she'd listened to Mary and Emmeline bicker the whole morning as she finished packing up her things and to top the whole day off, she was late for the carriages.

"You guys!" Lily squealed impatiently from the doorway after flinging the door wide open. "We're going to be late for the train and I for one am not banking on chasing it down the platform."

Alice wheeled her trunk towards the doorway, pausing with a big huff. "They're in the bathroom arguing," she muttered under her breath.

"Arguing?" Marlene questioned over Lily's shoulder.

"Yeah, Emmeline freaked out because Mary told her last night she isn't going to join the Order and now they are, in Emmy's eyes, officially not friends."

"Fucking hell," Marlene complained, rubbing at her forehead irritably. "We are literally about to leave school, become adults—"

"No! No! You don't get to keep that dress. I leant it to you when we were friends, we're not friends anymore." Emmeline's voice came echoing out from the bathroom.

"Don't be such a bitch!"

"What did you just call me?"

"For the love of Merlin…" Lily side stepped Alice's trunk and swung the bathroom door open.

"OUT!" she hollered at the girls, the two of them filing out with matching scowls. "We're meant to be leaving Hogwarts for the last time and you two are fighting like school girls!"

"Well, tell Mary to give me back my—"

"Oh, grow up, Emmeline!"

"HEY!" Lily could be intimidating when yelling. "I'm Head Girl, and I say both of you get your asses in line and down to the courtyard!"

"You can't use the Head Girl line, Evans," Mary told her, crossing her arms. "We've graduated—"

"NOW!" Lily bellowed a second time, the two girls standing up a little straighter.

That got them moving, neither saying anymore as they closed up their trunks and rolled them towards the door.

Alice had made a point to focus only on what was immediately in front of her for the morning. Waking up. Packing. Getting on the train. If she let herself think farther than that her head might just explode.

"Let's take the fifth-floor shortcut," Marlene instructed the group of them once they'd gotten themselves out of the portrait hole. "It'll cut down time and ensure we don't miss the bloody train."

"Who thought we'd be racing to leave Hogwarts?" Alice scoffed.

She wasn't dreading being gone, especially not after all that had happened this year and all that was currently going on…

"For fucks sake, I'm not having this conversation with you right now Frank—"

Marlene, who was leading the group of them, stopped so abruptly Lily ran right into her back. The redhead might have complained had she not also heard the panicked female voice from down the hall. Well, Alice's plan on focusing only on her immediate tasks seemed to have evaporated like a whiff of smoke.

"This isn't a game Cecily, this is my life."

"Yeah! Mine too, if you haven't noticed. I don't understand how you even heard about it in the first place."

"Maybe if you hadn't been telling everyone in the bloody castle but me."

Alice wrapped her arms around herself protectively, taking a deep breath. She felt dizzy all of a sudden, her hand pressing into the wall beside her for support.

"That's rich," Cecily hissed. "You lecturing me on behaviour. Did you forget that you dumped me and got right back together with your cheating girlfriend in a matter of days?"

"I'll kill her," Emmeline muttered beneath her breath.

"I don't think you're allowed to hurt a pregnant person," Mary warned her.

"This isn't about Alice!"

"Like hell it isn't, the only reason you've got your knickers in such a twist is because of her. You're afraid all that hard work you've put into fixing your relationship will all go straight down the drain."

"This has nothing to do with her," Frank repeated with less patience this time. "This has to do with the fact that you're pregnant and didn't even think to tell me! How long have you known?" Frank's question was met only with silence. Alice leant back against the wall behind her, her vision all blurry. "HOW LONG?"

"Two months."

"TWO MONTHS?" Frank screamed in horror. "Two months and you didn't think once it might be important to let me know?"

"YOU LEFT ME!"

"This isn't the time to be petty Cecily!"

"Are you okay?" Lily mouth at Alice, her green eyes awash with concern. Alice barely had the strength to respond. She felt like she was living a bad dream, her whole world being flipped upside down.

"Is it my baby or not?" A pregnant pause ensued. Alice clenched her hands into fists so tight her fingers ached.

"I don't know…" Cecily finally responded, the strength gone from her voice. "Are you happy now?"

Alice could hear Frank sighing. "No," he told her honestly. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Cecily—"

"It's humiliating." She sounded near tears. "I don't know who the father of this baby is and I'm a complete mess right now, okay? And you hate me…"

"I don't hate you," Frank assured her, his tone much warmer.

"You've barely looked at me once since we broke up."

"I thought that made it easier," he reasoned.

Cecily began to cry. Alice felt like she might do just the same. Then her sobs were muffled and it sounded as though she and Frank were locked in an embrace.

"Oh, what am I going to do Frank?"

"It'll be fine," he comforted her, "we'll figure it out together."

Alice didn't even bother with her luggage, turning and walking right back out the way she'd come in. There was a bathroom at the end of the hall; she remembered that. She ran down towards it, as fast as her short legs allowed, throwing herself into the first stall where she was violently ill.

This wasn't how she'd imagined her last day at Hogwarts at all.


A/N: The last Hogwarts chapter...I've got to admit, I'm a little sad to see it over. Hope you enjoy!