Chapter 123: Stefanie's Departure

"I'm really worried about Stef." Lily admitted. James had dragged her out for a walk to get her mind off some worries. It had been three days since their narrow escape from Voldemort and Stefanie was not getting any better. They had to transfer some of their powers to her everyday to sustain her energy level. Dumbledore had informed their respective bosses about their temporary absence from work until further notice. After all, it would be traumatizing for anyone to be able to escape from Voldemort.

"Me too. But I'm sure she wants us to use our energy in a better area than worrying about the uncertainties." James said honestly. They were holding hands and walking along muggle London. Although it would not be a wise move, but at least James was keeping a lookout around. It was nearing two in the afternoon and the streets were packed with people who were out for lunch.

"Well, I guess you're right. Voldemort probably want us to lose focus on the more important matters." Lily mumbled inaudibly to herself. "Let's get some food, I'm famished." She said with sudden enthusiasm. James gaped at her for the instant change. "I need all the energy I've to deal with that stupid guy. Shall we go for some steak today?" Lily pointed at the steakhouse a few meters away from them.

"O-ok, sure." James agreed, since he did not know what else he should say.

X

"We can go back in time and kill of Tom Riddle before he becomes Voldemort. Doesn't that make things easier?" Sirius suggested. Arabella was out teaching while Sirius, Remus and Stefanie were having a light-hearted conversation in Stefanie's room.

"We should kill him when he's a kid. At least we can be sure he won't have any magical powers." Remus added.

"Let say the 'supposedly protector' had wanted to come down here to create havoc and attain fame and power, he could have reborn as someone else and not Riddle. It could have been anyone, it's just that, somehow or rather he had picked Riddle." Stefanie said reasonably.

"Riddle might be the last heir of Slytherin himself. And once he dies, Slytherin will be heir-less." Sirius joked. "Then Hogwarts will have only three houses."

"There won't be Snivellus for us to prank since he'll probably not be accepted to Hogwarts." Remus added. "Then Malfoy and his cronies would never cross our paths."

"And our main prank target would be Diggory." Sirius said and the three of them started laughing. "Not forgetting Crouch and Bagman as well. The Hufflepuffs sissies!"

"Then Porky would not be in Hogwarts and we would have a stunning babe as Potion Master, or Mistress." Stefanie teased.

"Yeah, a hot babe with long and wavy dark brown hair, beautiful sea-green eyes, petite and cute and-" Sirius listed. "Ouch!" A pillow hit his face before he could complete his sentence.

"Why do I have the idea that you're describing me?" Stefanie laughed.

"Aren't you being thick skin? There are a million girls out there who fit this description." Sirius pretended to defend himself. "You think you're a hot babe? Let me tell you, I, Sirius Black, one of the most eligible bachelors in this world don't think you are hot."

"Thank Merlin and all other gods for that." Stefanie joked and pretended to look really relieved.

"I definitely think you're the hottest babe around." Remus muttered, loud enough for Stefanie to hear. She gave out a soft giggle which did not managed to escape Sirius' eyes.

"What're you giggling at?" Sirius narrowed his eyes suspiciously looking back and forth at Remus and Stefanie.

"Nothing at all." Stefanie started laughing out loud. "Sometimes I just don't understand how the girls back in Hogwarts thought you are hot."

"Hey. I am hot and sexy, alright? You're just jealous." Sirius looked away to add to the dramatic effect.

"Who's jealous of whom being hot and sexy?" Lily asked out of curiosity. James and Lily entered the room hand-in-hand. "I could hear you guys laughing from the entrance." Lily settled down on one of the couches near to Stefanie.

"They're jealous of me being hot and sexy." Sirius told them and to no one surprise, James and Lily burst into laughter together.

"Hey, that's insulting, you know." Sirius was pouting and pretended to be hurt.

"No one will be jealous of you for being hot and sexy coz they'll be too busy being jealous of me for the same reason." James said breezily as he settled himself comfortably into one of the armchairs adjacent to Lily's.

"James!" All of them shouted in synchrony.

"Just kidding." James grinned sheepishly and put up his hands in a surrendering motion. "But seriously-"

"It's Sirius without the '-ly'!" After so many years, no one would respond to this joke anymore.

"So where did you two gone to earlier?" Stefanie asked, totally not listening to Sirius' comment.

"Just for lunch at muggle London, that's all." Lily told them. "Nothing much." Stefanie nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"Hey!" Arabella walked into the room, her hair was looking a little windbrown.

"Yo!" All of them greeted her at the same time.

"Guess what happened?" Arabella asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"A tornado just blew passed you?" Sirius joked which earned him a glare from Arabella and shut him up.

"Sounds like something good." Lily smiled broadly.

"Yep! I've got a total pay rise of about 1000 galleons." Arabella told everyone.

"That's great news!" Stefanie hugged Arabella enthusiastically despite the fact that she was feeling weak all over.

"That's right! The parents of those rich brats – I mean kids – that I've been teaching were so happy with my way of teaching, especially in these dark times and everything, so all of them gave me 250 galleons more each." She said in satisfaction.

"That's awesome! And it calls for a celebration!" Lily jumped up and skipped towards the door. "I'll go to the kitchens and get some food up here right now."

"I'll go with you since you don't know what to get. You don't know what's good." James followed Lily out of the room while Lily's protests could be heard for another minute.

"Congrats! I'm so happy for you." Stefanie said sincerely. "You deserve that with all the extra effort you put in for them."

"Jeez, thanks! It was really unexpected for the sudden increase as well. The sum adds up to a lot." Arabella's wide smile never left her face.

"The rich kids that you all were saying somehow reminded us when we were younger though." Remus told Arabella. "Except that we had all the old and retire professors. Once in awhile when there's a younger teacher, it's really cool."

"Yeah, I remembered our tutor who taught us English. She's really pretty and looked something like Fion. Wonder what happened to her now." Sirius' voice drifted softer at the mention of Fion, who was still missing after so long.

"Ya, hope she's doing alright somewhere out there, and not in Voldemort's hands." Arabella whispered.

"Look what we got here!" James' voice broke their silence and they smiled at the positive interruption. Both of them looked genuinely happy for good times were now far and few.

"Homemade butterbeers too! Pizza! Crepes! Take your pick." Lily waved her wand and the food spread magically onto the enchanted coffee table, which was now the size of the dinning table.

"Yummy!" Sirius rubbed his hands together and took a big chicken drumstick which was directly in front of him.

"Seafood baked rice." Remus took a big scope of the baked rice and piled onto his plate. They were all eating heartily, chatting away, like the good old times. And this of course became one of their better memories together.

X

"Stef!" Lily shrieked. They had been chatting when suddenly Stefanie passed out and fell against Remus' shoulder. For the last whole week, they made sure at any one time, someone was by Stefanie's side, even at night when she was sleeping. And everyday, they had to transfer some of their powers to keep her going while they tried to figure out what was happening to their friend.

"Stef!" Remus put his arms around Stefanie to support her. "Wake up please!"

"Let's transfer some of our powers to her." Sirius suggested out of panic.

"But you all just transferred some to her an hour ago, will it be okay?" Arabella asked; her voice was filled with worry.

"Let's try to control and not transferring too much over." Lily interrupted before Sirius and Arabella could start bickering. She had an uneasy feeling and it was not a good sign.

"Don't delay. Belle, please call Dumbledore." James sat down with one hand holding Remus and the other one holding Lily. Instead of keeping their eyes closed, they were concentrating on Stefanie's expression, in case of overdose. Arabella, while keeping an eye on Stefanie, were writing hastily on a parchment and attached it to Lily's owl that was at the windowsill.

"Go straight to Dumbledore now. It's an emergency." Twinklebell gave a knowing hoot and flew out into the night sky.

"Stop." Stefanie mumbled weakly. "It's no use. I'm feeling weak all over."

"No! I won't let you die." Remus hugged Stefanie tightly but at the same time did not want to crush her bones since she was already fragile enough.

"Remus, I love you, and always do. Remember what I've told you." Stefanie whispered at Remus' right ear. He released her slowly and gently positioning her against the cushions.

"You all are my best friends and always will be." Stefanie's voice was weak and yet she said every word with passion. "I might be gone temporary but I know we'll meet again. Remember to find a way to change the past so that we can be reunited once more." They nodded silently. Lily and Arabella started crying while the three guys were fighting back their tears a little longer. "We can definitely change history for a better future." Remus was wiping the tears off her face while she continued speaking.

"Stef.." Lily and Arabella moved closer to Stefanie and held onto her hand tightly. "Please don't go."

"Live on well and don't forget the reason why we're here for." Stefanie reminded them gently. "There must be something we can do to avoid all these."

"STEF!" They shrieked together. Not only was she looking paler, she was turning translucent. They held onto Stefanie's hands even tighter.

Dumbledore was standing at the doorway, absorbing the scene before him as he slowly walked in. None of them had noticed their appearance yet and he did not want to interrupt their last few moments together. Despite his advanced levels of magical powers, there was nothing he could have done to prevent one of his favorite students from going. The magic that possessed within the six of them was far beyond anyone's knowledge.

"I must go soon. Remember I love all of you and you'll always be in my heart." She was turning more transparent with the passing seconds and only her necklace looked as solid as before. "We'll meet again soon." The orange gem on the necklace was losing its shine and flickered again.

"Stef! No!" The hands they were holding onto were now nothing but an empty mist. "Professor! Help!"

"Goodbye. Till we meet again." Stefanie's tears glistened in the light as her body faded into the surroundings. The necklace she was wearing previously fell onto the sofa with a 'tug' and she was gone.

"NO!" Remus shouted and fell against the sofa, totally defeated. James and Sirius stayed by his side and patted his shoulders comfortingly.

"No." Lily whispered as she picked up the heart-shaped pendant Stefanie was just wearing a few minutes ago. She held onto it tightly while both girls were hugging each other and sobbed.

"Professor." James acknowledged the presence of Dumbledore.

"Why didn't you save her? Professor, why didn't you?" Remus raised his voice at Dumbledore.

"There's nothing I can do to prevent that." Dumbledore closed his eyes in remorse and lowered his head. "What happened was beyond me." All of them were staying in the room but yet no one spoke for a long time. Lily and Arabella were sitting close together on a two-seater sofa. James and Sirius held Remus up to the chair where he was sitting together with Stefanie many minutes ago. It was the first time anyone of them had seen Remus crying. While Dumbledore sat silently in another chair, deep in his thoughts with occasional tears that escaped from his eyes.

Helen Potter was passing by the hall, she knew what had happened. It reminded her too much of her husband's death and missing daughter. She walked away silently, crying for her decreased husband, for her missing daughter, and for a girl who was like her second daughter.

X

Things had never been the same around Potter's Manor. Every time after a death, or sudden departure, of a loved one, the house would get more lifeless and gloomy.

"Remus." Lily said gently. "You need to eat something." She scooped some of Remus' favorite food into his plate.

"We need you here. Please don't torture yourself." Arabella touched his shoulders.

"Thanks. But I'm not hungry." Remus mumbled nearly inaudibly. It had been three days since Stefanie had gone. Remus was devastated and he was looking more pale and haggard than ever, with dark eye rings and unkempt hair. "I'm going back to my room." He stood up but James and Sirius held him down again.

"Take a bite." James picked up a sausage and shoved it into his mouth. Remus opened his mouth automatically and took a bite of it. Everyone was watching him chewing his food and swallowing it before James continued feeding him. They kept quiet throughout as not to disturb Remus' thoughts. This was probably the first time he ate something since that fateful day.

"Open your mouth." Sirius ordered. Remus opened his mouth obediently and Sirius fed him with a spoonful of mashed potatoes. The two guys continued feeding Remus with food for another twenty minutes or so and Lily and Arabella took over from them.

"Open your mouth." Lily said gently and fed Remus some carbonara penne pasta. They were trying to feed him with a wide variety of food since he had not eaten in nearly three days. At the same time, they had to pick the simple and less messy food because Remus, although chewing and swallowing, looked rather spaced out.

"Open your mouth." Arabella fed Remus with a spoonful of mushroom soup. It was really strange to see them feeding Remus because it was unlike him to lose his sanity. They had all grieved over Stefanie's departure, but Remus was taking it the hardest. She was one of the reasons why he was who he became today. Moreover, they shared a special bond when Remus saved her from the werewolf when they were kids.

"Drink this." After another fifteen minutes of feeding, Lily fed Remus with a goblet of pumpkin juice using a newly conjured muggle straw. Remus drank it subconsciously and finished the whole cup.

"Let's go outdoor." James suggested and the rest nodded in approval.

"I'll get back to my room first." Remus mumbled and turned towards the direction of his room.

"No hurry." James steered Remus back to their original direction. "Just a quick walk." James nodded to Sirius and he took over from James to usher Remus outdoor while he held Lily back. Arabella stayed with them to see what James got to say.

"Remus is not looking well at all. He's terrible and I've never seen him looking like this before." James shook his head. "I think we need to do something."

"First we need to make sure he gets some sleep. He must be getting nightmares every night." Lily said. For the past two nights, James and Sirius took turns to stay with him in his room just to play safe. According to them, he barely slept and woke up every other hour with nightmares haunting him or mumbling in his sleep looking very uncomfortable.

"At first I thought he would be okay, but judging from just now. I think he might take a longer time than that." Arabella said in a low voice. By now Sirius and Remus had walked at least fifty meters away from them. They followed behind and discussed about what to do about Remus.

"We can get some sleeping draught from Pomfrey. I don't think our charms will be able to work on him, or at least we need some very very advanced and complicated charms." Lily said. "I supposed we can ask Pomfrey to come and take a look at him."

"I can be sure that Remus will not want to see anyone. Not even Dumbledore when he came yesterday." James told them. Dumbledore had come to see them every day to check how they were coping with everything. Apparently Remus had been hiding in his room, refusing to see even Mrs. Potter. James and Sirius had to barge into his room several times before he allowed their presence. In fact it was only when the two guys levitated Remus to the dinning hall where Lily and Arabella had seen him for the first time after three days.

"We can make a trip to Hogwarts and ask her what we can do." Lily suggested. James and Arabella nodded and felt that it was the only way, judging from current situation.

"We should get going now, in fact." James agreed; the whole situation was depressing enough without Remus adding into their stress level.

"Be back as soon as possible." Arabella said worriedly. "Sirius and I can only keep him for that while." Remus had been reluctant to do anything or face anyone longer than necessary.

"We promise." Lily nodded firmly and they went on different directions. Arabella dashed forward towards Sirius and Remus' direction while walking behind them closely. James and Lily dashed towards the Entrance which was the only place where they could apparate out. Holding hands, they nodded in silence and disapparated from Potter's Manor with two 'pops'.

"Whew." Lily made a sound of relieved when both appeared safe and sound at the gates to Hogwarts.

"Let's go." James and Lily rushed straight towards the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey would be. They had been there regular enough to know the location by heart. Within ten minutes of brisk walking, they stopped at the entrance of the Infirmary, catching their breath.

"Hi, Madam Pomfrey." Lily knocked the door and popped her head in to take a look. There was no one in sight and they walked into, looking around at the familiar beds and furnishings where the group of friends had shared in the last seven years.

"It's like we'll never get to stay here again." James commented.

"Honestly, it had never been my dream to stay in here." Lily gave a small laughed at James' brainless comment.

"I don't mean that." James smiled. "It's like, you know, we've so much memories here. Not that they were good ones, but at least the more memorable ones."

"I know what you mean. Just that I don't particularly fancy staying in the Ward more than necessary as much as I love Madam Pomfrey." Lily laughed at the thought. She had stayed in this very room for several times in her school years, and those were not the best of memories.

"I heard someone calling me." Madam Pomfrey entered the room, smiling at the two graduated students. "What brings you two here?"

"Hi Madam Pomfrey." Both of them greeted her together, their school nurse still looked exactly the same. In fact she looked almost the same throughout their entire school life. She often joked that the lines on her face were mainly caused by the Marauders and not of age.

"You look exactly the way I remembered you." Lily said politely. "In fact we're here to request for some Sleeping Draught."

"Sleeping Draught?" Madam Pomfrey raised her brows for a moment. "For Remus?" She frowned at the thought. "The poor boy."

"Ya, it's for him. He had been haunted by nightmares ever since-" James felt that it was unbearable to continue his sentence.

"I understand." Madam Pomfrey said in a low voice. She had known all six of them personally and it saddened her whenever anything happened to anyone of them. "I get you both the Sleeping Draft and Draught of Peace. Two capped vials of potions flew towards her right hand. "I think you might want to keep the Draught of the Living Dead aside a well." Another smaller vial flew out from the drawer beneath. "No more than ten drops of this two in a goblet full of water." She handed the two bigger vials to James. They nodded. "And this," Madam Pomfrey said in a sober manner. "One drop is enough to knock out a person for more than twelve hour. Of course this is much stronger and don't use it unless absolutely necessary."

"Yes, Madam." Both of them nodded to the Pomfrey's instruction.

"Alright, keep it well then." She smiled encouragingly at them. "Maybe you might want to stop by Dumbledore's office to update him on the situation."