Maleah walked into her dorm room and found Ananda and Maria glaring at each other from opposite ends of the room. Poor Emmeline and Jennifer were stuck in the mirror looking like deer caught in headlights. The tension was palpable.

"Who died?" Maleah asked, discarding her cloak.

"That slut's conscience," Ananda barked.

Maleah looked at Maria. "That's horrible," she exclaimed. "When's the funeral?"

"This is not a laughing matter," Maria said through clenched teeth. "Ananda thinks she oh-so smart and such a great person, but she's only a hypocritical little bitch!"

"Who the hell do you think you're calling a bitch, bitch?" Ananda snapped, bouncing off her bed.

"You, bitch!" Maria got off her bed as well.

"We're going to-yeah," Jennifer dragged Emmeline out of the room, leaving the three girls.

"What happened?" Maleah asked.

"She has the nerve to think she can just sashay an apology and everything with be all hunky-dory with the two of you," Ananda bit off.

"You have no right to act like you're Maleah's mother. She already has one," Maria snapped.

"That shows how much you know about her," Ananda shot back. "Her mother's bed dead for almost ten years. And I do not act like her mother! I'm her best friend. I look out for her. That's what friends do; something you know nothing about."

Maria took a step forward. "I'm getting just about sick of your little insinuations. I don't need your forgiveness, because I didn't do a bloody thing to you. Stop trying to poison Maleah's mind against me!"

"No!" Ananda exclaimed. "The moment you hurt Maleah you made it my business. And I don't have to poison her mind against you because you're doing a swell job of it as it is."

"Sod off!" Maria cried.

"Only if you die first!" Ananda shot back walking up to Maria.

"Stop it!" Maleah looked completely crushed. "I don't need anyone speaking for me or defending me. Look, Nana, I love you, you're my best friend, but you've got to let me breathe a bit! And, Maria, you have no right to be making any demands as it is. I don't know who the hell either of you think you are. No, my mother is not alive, but that doesn't make me any weaker!"

Maleah shot one last disappointed look at the two girls before leaving the room in a huff. She went into the boy's dorm room on instinct and instead of heading straight for Jake's room, Maleah found herself in front of Michaelson's. After their talk, they'd walked around the village, mostly in silence with small comments here and there.

"Hi," she said shyly when she walked in. The place was a mess with clothes, books, and brooms everywhere. The only part of the room that was in pristine condition was Michaelson's bed area. He'd always been a bit anal about dirt.

Michaelson sat up in his bed, from where she was standing; she assumed he was reading a quidditch magazine. "Hey. What's going on?"

Carefully maneuvering around the dirt and questionable items in his room, Maleah finally sat upon Michaelson's bedside table. "Ananda and Maria were having a go at each other."

Michaelson closed his magazine and smiled wryly. "About you?" he assumed.

Maleah nodded. "I get that Ananda is looking out for me, but it feels condescending now."

"It's always been condescending," Michaelson told her.

"No, it wasn't," Maleah argued.

"Yes, it was," he assured her. "But, go on."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Maria called Ananda out. Ananda called Maria out. It was just a mess."

Michaelson winced. "I'm sure it was."

"I-."

The door opened and Jake barreled in. Not even concealing his disgust for Michaelson, he turned to Maleah. "What's going on, Leah?"

Maleah shook her head. "I-."

"You go off with Michaelson even after he fucked someone who was supposed to be your friend," Jake continued. "And now you two are ready to hop back into the proverbial sack together?"

"No!" Maleah exclaimed. "That's not what's going on!"

"Then explain it to me, Maleah, because I am a bit confused here!"

"She doesn't have to explain anything to you," Michaelson growled. "That's why she came here in the first place because you people expect so much from her in the first place."

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Maleah cried. "This is exactly the problem! I don't want any of you talking for me! I am my own person and I can speak and make decisions for my own bloody self!"

She hopped off the table and left the room, leaving Jake and Michaelson staring after her. Maleah barged out of the common room, alerting James to her plight. She walked quickly through the corridors of the castle that had been her home for almost seven years and allowed her feet to lead her to a tree near the lake. Maleah sat underneath the tree and allowed her mind to free.

It was at that exact tree that her parents married before the lake. It was the most peaceful place at Hogwarts and Maleah liked to fancy that she felt her mother's spirit when she was there.

Harry Potter gazed at the sleeping image of his wife and daughter. Katia cradled the year old Maleah to her like she did her stuffed animals and Harry could see a peek of brown fur from the small stuffed bear Katia presented Maleah with earlier that day. These were the women of his life.

"I think it's safe to say that I was no different than the others, huh?" Michaelson asked as he sat next to her a moment later.

Maleah turned to him. The blue eyes she loved so much were filled with regret. She took his hand in hers. "I'm surprised Jake or Ananda aren't here," she responded truthfully.

"I kind of asked them to let me talk to you," Michaelson said sheepishly. "But if you want to talk to them,-."

"No!" Maleah said quickly. "It's okay."

Michaelson relaxed and leaned against the tree trunk next to her. "Why here?"

Maleah looked around the small area near the crook in the lake. "My parents were married here."

"Really?" Michaelson was surprised. "I didn't think Hogwarts let anyone marry here."

"My father has the officials at this school wrapped around his finger," Maleah replied with a slight scoff. "And my mother could charm the pants off of anyone. They could have taken over the world together."

Michaelson laughed. "They sound like superheroes."

"They were," Maleah guessed. "At least, before one event changed all their lives."

"I figure by the time Maleah is ten we should have another child," Katia decided one evening in bed with Harry.

Harry froze in shock. "What?"

"Well, you kind of need a son to carry on the Potter name, you moron," Katia reminded him.

Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You want to give me a son?" he asked with a slight smirk on his face.

Katia giggled. "I'm going to need some help," she insinuated.

"Let's get started!"

"Do you ever wonder what would happen if something in your life was different?" Maleah asked him.

Michaelson frowned. "Uh-no."

"So eloquent," she teased him softly, brushing a finger over his palm.

"I figure I'll let the poets say it for me," Michaelson grinned.

"I don't accept plagiarism," Maleah said pertly.

"I guess I should learn how to write poetry, huh?" Michaelson asked.

They hadn't discussed it. In fact, Maleah made it a point for him to realize that they wouldn't be anything more than friends, but as she stared into the lake that afternoon, and held his and in hers, she realized that she was just being stupid. She wanted to be with William James Michaelson.

For some reason she didn't feel fear for tomorrow anymore. She felt as though she could take on the world. Perhaps it was the location, or perhaps it was Michaelson.

"Yeah," she answered, finally. "You should."

Michaelson shifter their joined hands and brought hers to his lip. "You're really hot, you know that, Potter?"

Maleah shoved him away. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He laughed. "Maybe I should rephrase: you're beautiful, you know that, Potter?"

Maleah turned her head and kissed him. "Thank you," she whispered.

And she felt beautiful.

FAQ/FYI:

Um...is this the end?
Yes, people, that was the end.

WTH?! It came out of nowhere!
I know it came out of nowhere. Hell, I was shocked as hell when I realized the story was over. I've said this before that this story practically wrote itself. It stopped writing. It's over.

So...what's next?
Well, I was thinking I could give a soundtrack for this story. I've done that for a few of my stories, maybe this one too.

Is there going to be a sequel?
I don't know. I did leave the Harry issue a bit unresolved, huh? We'll see.

What else are you working on?
Homework! lol, seriously? Is Dumbledore Sane? is going to be edited again. Eventually. I can't think about it right now. I seriously want to give the story away so if you want to rewrite it, let me know. I'll give you all the chapters, and you can do with it what you please. I also have Crying is a Sign of Weakness to finish. I've been neglecting it and I left it on a cliffhanger the last time I posted. PLUS, I have Those Darn Potters, but that is only a series of one-shots. But I do have the resolve the conflict in that before I can acutally be like, "no more updates, for real this time." So...yeah.

This couldn't possibly have been the end! It was too abrupt!
I agree. It was weird how it just ended like that. But it's been a long time coming. Maleah's finally realized that she's beautiful people. She's allowing herself to be happy, which was the whole point. I will go back and edit this chapter when I'm not so stressed to smooth it out, but for now...yeah. It's the end.

But what about Maria?!
Um. Hmm. You're right. Maria. Well, I'll let you decide what to do with her. But like I said, I will go back and edit this. Just give me a couple of weeks. The edited chapter will be MUCH longer and have more stuff in it. Promise. BTW: ANNOUNCEMENT: I went back and edited the first twelve chapters for simple grammatical and spelling mistakes. I also added a conversation between Harry and Katia right before she died. GO READ IT! It's really good, if I say so myself...

Acknowledgments
Thank you so much everyone who reviewed! It means a lot. I would list everyone down, but that'd take forever since I have almost 300 reviews!!! OMG, you guys are amazing. I love you! Also, to all those who made me laugh in their reviews or those who kicked my butt into gear and didn't let me procrastinate with this story! You know who you are. Thanks a lot! Plus, to Suzy. Just cause.