Giddy Brew

Chapter 30: Don't Make Love So Hard

A/N: OMFG! The END. I think I might cry. Apparently, the original Giddy Brew plan was to have 35 chapters- see, the me at the beginning of this thing actually gave room for the plot. Unfortunately, when you write everything down in your livejournal and random notebooks, you tend to forget. My bad. The original name for this chapter was something along the lines of Hotcakes, Lippy, and Footy, or something along those lines. The new name is from a song by The Good Life that I'm actually not all that fond of, but is currently stuck in my head.

They held a memorial service. It had taken them two days to dig up the bodies, but once they found them, they decided the memorials would be held at school, and the burials would be two days following. There was a big debate over what would happen to the bodies of Prue, Frank, and Jasminder. Their parents all wanted to bury them in muggle cemeteries (Jasminder's wanted to do something that sounded vaguely like burning her body, but that was silly. The administration hoped.)

In the end, the parents won out, of course. But out of respect, they showed at the memorial. Both of Prue's parents made it through the ceremony without taking any shots at each other. Serendipity told the remaining Icemen that this was an accomplishment.

The headmistress gave a nice speech. It went something like this, "Elanore Moravia Kingston, Sean Franklin Wakefield, Prudence Leander Gelliston, and Jasminder Mehendra Shah were all exemplary students, and the pride of their houses. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor have suffered a deep loss, as has all of Hogwarts…"

All Casey could think was, 'Frank's real name was Sean? And since when was Prue's middle name Leander?'

After the service, the Icemen and the only remaining Saint found themselves surrounded by tearful mourners, including the entire Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Quidditch teams, a handful of Hufflepuff girls that Prue had been close to, Perseus Elroy and some of Elanore's friends from Arithmancy, and many more. Even Dirk looked like he was starting to tear, and Gethsemane Kenth was full out bawling.

"Don't get me wrong," she sobbed, "I hated those bitches. It's just so s-sad that I didn't get to have my r-revenge."

They managed to extricate themselves from the crowd to escape into the Great Hall for breakfast. Over pumpkin pasties, the group discussed everything from the latest Quidditch news to when the Black Orbit's new album would be released. There was only one topic they scooted around, even though it seemed impossible to avoid it.

Polaris wasn't there to comfort Serendipity, but she didn't mind. He had his hands full with Noah, who hadn't even left his room for the memorial. He was really torn up. Joshua, on the other hand, had sat stiffly through the service, the left without a word. He hadn't even managed a nasty comment towards Casey before he left with Dirk.

As for Casey, he found it very strange, but he couldn't seem to cry. It had been easy when Prue had been there, blood soaked and dying. But now, he just refused to believe she was gone. Even though he'd heard the speeches, even though he saw the tears of everyone else around her, and even though he'd witnessed her death, he just couldn't believe it.

The day they stepped back onto the Hogwarts express, he was cornered by Cerulean and Cherridy, who demanded that he show them honest to god tears so that they knew for sure he wasn't psychologically damaged. He still couldn't do it.

Casey couldn't make it to Prue's funeral. He didn't think she would mind too much. He had to take care of the twins that day. In fact, he spent most of the summer with his younger brothers. It wasn't easy to keep his mind off of her. Half the time he picked up his quill to write her about something funny that had happened, or just to tell her he loved her.

Then he remembered, and felt so close to the verge that it killed him. When that happened, he would pick up his guitar, or go find his brothers, or sometimes try to fly. It was rare that Casey ever hopped on a broom back when Prue was around. In a way, he thought it might be his personal memorial to her. After all he knew that she loved to fly. Even though the broom was uncomfortable, and the wind in his face often stung his eyes, he could sort of see why Prue enjoyed it on those clear summer days. It was the only time he thought of her and didn't feel any pain.

He spent his seventh year at Hogwarts reevaluating what he wanted to do with his life. Originally, he'd planned on following Prue into the muggle world for a while. She had mentioned that she'd like to study archaeology, and that the stars in the desert were really something. He'd thought that being an astronomer would be nice. Now he had a new path.

Casey, Serendipity, Quant, Sylvester, and Bobby stayed good friends until their graduation the following year. Their families showed up on that hot sunny day bursting with pride. Especially Casey's. Especially once he told them what he'd decided to do.

At one point during the ceremony, Casey pulled aside Serendipity and asked, "Hey, you live in London, right?"

Smiling widely, Serendipity said, "Yeah, why?"

"I was uh, wondering, if tomorrow you could take me to where Prue is buried?"

Serendipity's face changed, "Of course. It would have been better if she and Ellie were here. I keep thinking that."

"I know what you mean."

The next day, Casey apparated to Serendipity's house, and she took him a mile out of the city to the muggle graveyard where Prue lay. After she showed him to the grave, she walked a distance away, giving him privacy.

"Prue," Casey touched the top of her grave stone, "This is weird. I'm a wizard, I'm not supposed to talk to the air…"

"I miss you Prue. I miss you so much. You were my best friend. I don't know what to do without you, most of the time. I think sometimes what I would have done if you'd decided to never be my friend, back in first year. You were so cute…I probably would have chased you until you gave in, no matter how far you ran. You could have transferred to Beauxbatons, and I still would have gone after you, I think. Even now, I wonder if I can chase you."

The wind shifted, if only a little, "I know. You'd hate that. I love you, Prudence."

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he heard her laugh, "Don't call me that!"

Casey smiled, "I'm gonna be an auror, you know. I got into the Academy and everything. Bet you never expected that."

He talked to her for an hour, leaning up against the cool stone, the grass prickling his ankles. When Serendipity came to fetch him, Casey grinned.

"Have a good talk?" Serendipity asked.

"The best," Casey replied, "So Serendipity Watson, I haven't heard yet. What are you going to do with your life?"

Serendipity looked to the sky and laughed, "I have no idea Casey Hargrove. I have no bloody idea."

"Well you better figure it out," Casey said in a stern imitation of his own mother, "This is your life you know."

"I know. But aren't you sad? Doesn't this feel like the end of everything?"

"You want me to say something cliché like this is only the beginning, don't you?" Casey demanded indignantly.

"Yes," Serendipity responded shamelessly.

"Fine. For you, this is only the beginning."

"What about for you?" Serendipity asked.

"There are no beginnings or endings for me," Casey smirked.

"Hey! You stole that from a Dark Symphony song!"

"I might have," Casey ducked as she tried to hit him. The sunlight was streaming down on him, the future looked bright, and he knew that someday, everything would be okay. Life was good.

A/N: So, so…I can't even think up a response to the junk that I have just written. sighs Oh well. Read the sequel. Much better, plus a drumroll PLOT!!!!