Chapter 11: Try

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the related characters. The Harry Potter series is created by J.K. Rowling and owned by Warner Bros. Pictures. All rights of Harry Potter belong to Warner Bros. Pictures. This entire story is a work of fanfiction and is meant for entertainment purposes only. I am not making a profit from this story.

Notes: This chapter is inspired by the song "Try" by P!nk.

Summer 1998

I watched a few stray clouds move quickly across the otherwise clear blue sky as the Hogwarts Express journeyed back to King's Cross station. Sometimes the dazzling sun was hidden behind them, but eventually it emerged again and shone brightly in the sky.

It served as a reminder that even the greatest difficulties in life come to pass when you strive to overcome them.

This definitely rang true after the Battle of Hogwarts. I had to remain on high alert for hours as I navigated through the corridors with Parvati, Sue, Lav and Dean. We fought so many Death Eaters and supporters of He Who Must Not Be Named. There were several moments when I thought I was going to die, but I kept pushing on. We were so close to winning the war, I didn't want to give up. When I saw Hagrid carrying what appeared to be Harry's corpse, my resolve cracked and I thought for sure that all hope was lost. But as soon as he miraculously awoke, it came back and now here I am today, alive with my sister, heading home.

I now felt mostly at ease, except for a particularly odd close call with Rabastan Lestrange that continued to vex me. He had cornered me and Parvati in the dungeons and hexed us, but a strange white light emitted from my chest, forming a protective barrier to reflect his jinx. It bounced back and disarmed him before Parvati used the Incarcerous spell to bind his limbs in thick ropes.

She then cautiously approached me and suspiciously inquired what I had done to block his attack. The truth was that I had no idea what exactly happened and I didn't want to worry about it at a time like this. So I passed it off as wandless magic and suggested we go find the others, from whom we'd been temporarily separated.

It was a terrible excuse. The only witch my age I knew who could achieve such a feat was Hermione. But, it was the best I could come up with on the spot. Parvati appeared doubtful, but thanked me for the quick save before dropping the subject entirely as we went to look for our friends.

I turned away from the window and found her and Sue looking at me from across the compartment. Their faces likely held the same heavy expression as mine - mentally and physically exhausted, but relieved to be alive. We were so proud to defend our school, our home for seven long years. After all that we'd been through there, it was hard to say goodbye.

But, another lesson the war had taught me was to embrace new beginnings. I wasn't the same person I had been before. I learned to stand my ground and really fight for what I believed in.

Lavender lost her life for that.

I will never forget the sound of my sister's wails as she sobbed over her best friend's body that had been recovered by Professor Trelawney and placed with the rest of the Fallen Fifty. Fenrir Greyback was currently serving a lifetime sentence in Azkaban.

Parvati was silent now. She was most likely still coming to terms with what happened to Lav and recovering from the most traumatic school year we've ever had. How were we expected to just carry on after all that? My internship was still scheduled to begin next month and Parvati was supposed to start her training as a Healer next week. I hoped that the wounded patients she encountered wouldn't cause her to experience PTSD after this war.

"They stationed me in the maternity ward first. Then, I'll gradually transition to the paediatric unit, which is where I'd like to be," Parvati quietly explained, correctly reading what was on my mind. I sighed in relief and leaned forward to give her a hug, followed by Sue. At least St. Mungo's was understanding of these current unprecedented circumstances.

"Did the French Ministry of Magic library accept your internship application?" Parvati asked Sue.

"Yes, I'll be starting my position there next month. I'm going to stay with Normande's family," Sue confirmed.

"I'm glad you and Normande won't have to do long-distance anymore. All this talk of love makes me wish I'd looked around more when we were still students," Parvati said with a wistful smile.

"There's someone out there for everyone," Sue replied sincerely.

It suddenly hit me that going home would mean having to hear my parents ask when I would get married. That was the funny thing about my family. We weren't allowed to date in school, but we were expected to get married soon after we graduated. There was simply no logic in that, which irritated my Ravenclaw mentality.

Moving back home might also mean seeing Dev more often than I did when I was away at school, which was something I wasn't yet prepared for. Watching him bail on our date still stung and I wasn't sure how we could face each other again after that. I just wasn't able to establish what we were at this point. Acquaintances? Friends? Almost lovers? Our current relationship was hard to define.

"I need some air," I sighed, slipping out of our compartment and going to find the Honeydukes Express trolley lady.

When I saw her, she was selling a copy of the Daily Prophet and a bag of Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans to Terry Boot. As he was taking his purchases, he saw me and beamed.

"Hello gorgeous! Looking stunning as ever," he cheerfully remarked with a playful wink. I really didn't know how he stayed so optimistic. His arms were littered with scabs and he had a small scar on the right side of his chin. His positivity was certainly admirable.

"Hi Terry, looking forward to summer break? Any plans for work?" I asked.

"Ah yes. Being a D.A. member inspired me to apply for the new D.A.D.A. instructor position. With Carrow gone, there's a vacancy that needs to be filled. I've consistently scored Outstandings in the subject since first year and my N.E.W.T. examiner was so impressed that he offered to write me a letter of recommendation. I start my position in September," Terry confirmed. Wow. It looks like he'll be the youngest Hogwarts professor, even beating out Snape.

Before I could congratulate him, his crystal blue eyes darted to the paper he was holding. He then gleefully whooped and enthusiastically held it up for me to see.

"Harry made the front page! It was just as I expected. I know this isn't the first time, but it'll undoubtedly be the most memorable yet. First a basilisk and now You Know Who himself? All while still a Hogwarts student? Merlin's beard, he's incredible!" Terry gushed. He'd always been one of Harry's most vocal supporters, behind Colin Creevey. I wasn't too surprised that he was cheering him on, even after we'd graduated.

Terry's joyful smile faltered when he saw a subsection of the article mention Harry rekindling his romance with Ginny. No surprise there. It was obvious that he'd only ended their relationship to prevent her from becoming a target for the Death Eaters. However, I saw my own astonishment at discovering that Dev had a girlfriend reflected on Terry's face as he scanned the article before morosely stuffing it into his satchel.

Rumour has it that he initially considered asking Harry to be his date for the Yule Ball. But, after Harry approached my sister, Terry ended up going with Lisa Turpin and the two briefly dated before amicably splitting up. Either way, he was definitely somewhere on the spectrum.

Terry has always been positive, outgoing and unafraid to speak his mind. It was horrific to helplessly watch Carrow attack him after he happily announced that Harry had successfully broken into Gringotts during dinner in the Great Hall. But that didn't dampen his spirits, and he still continued to attend the D.A. meetings. I was so proud to be in the same house as him.

Terry deserved every success in life and love.

And you know what? So did I.

I wanted to be with someone who was willing to fight for the future of our relationship. It had taken a lot of courage for me to disobey my parents' rules and meet Dev at that muggle observatory. The manner in which he covertly asked me out on what was supposed to be our first date and his abrupt exit upon seeing my cousin and sister approaching us there showed me what a coward he was. I didn't want to be involved in a relationship built on deceit. I sought to be a part of one with a strong foundation of honesty, open communication and trust.

Life is precious and I didn't want to just settle for anything ever again.

I paid the trolley lady three sickles for a bottle of iced pumpkin juice and two striped bendy straws, which I offered to Terry first.

"I've always thought you were pretty cute Boot. Interested in meeting up sometime this summer?"

Notes: Hogwarts is done, but the drama continues! ;)