Chapter 18

"Dumbledore, I-I can't believe you did that for me." Myrtle started to cry as she glanced from Dumbledore to Hermione and wailed, "Both of you have been so good to me. . ."

"Then why do seem so sad," Hermione thought the poor ghost looked as if someone had just run over her cuddly puppy.

"Because," she stopped crying and then smiled at Hermione and sighed, "I'm going to miss both of you."

"You've decided to leave," Dumbledore had gained back most of his strength by now and came to stand before Myrtle. He gave her an affectionate smile and Hermione reciprocated the action. "Myrtle," his smile softened as he said, "wherever you plan to go, I hope you know that you'll always have a place to return to if you ever wish to come back to Hogwarts."

Myrtle began to cry again but these were happier tears and Hermione felt her own emotions crawl up to the surface. Her tears were for her friend, and Myrtle turned from Dumbledore in time to see them slide down her cheeks.

"How can I ever repay you, Hermione for making this possible for me?" She smiled at Hermione and Hermione felt a rush of warmth as if she were being hugged by an invisible being in the room.

"What was that for?" She knew it was Myrtle's way of reaching out to her in the only way she knew how, through her emotions she'd given Hermione a hug.

"That hug was for our friendship." Moaning Myrtle paused and then she squealed with delight. It was such an un-Myrtle-like sound coming from the ghost, that both Hermione and Dumbledore took a step back. Then they burst out laughing because Myrtle began to twirl around in the air above them shouting, "I'm free, I'm free, Oh my, how wonderful that I'm free!"

Hermione did a little happy dance in account of the celebration and Dumbledore chuckled at them and shook his head with affection, "you two have given me very good memories to end this trying day with, thank you . . . and now I am to retire for the evening with a spot of pickled relish tea to help me relax from the days labors."

He left his office and told Hermione before he closed the door behind him, "Make sure that you turn out the lights using your wand Hermione you know how to do the light trick, I'm sure. Shut the door behind you, when you leave. Myrtle, good luck with everything you venture toward in your life, you will always have a home at Hogwarts if you want it."

Myrtle waved at Dumbledore and stopped twirling when Hermione spoke up from the side, "Myrtle, where do you plan to go?"

Myrtle stopped for a moment and gave Hermione a shrug as if she knew exactly where she was going but had no wish to reveal her secret as yet, "I will send you a post card, Hermione, after I get there." With a small wave and a wide smile, Myrtle turned from Hermione and left the room. She departed the castle that day. Hermione waved her wand around the office with a swish and flick of her wrist and said, "Lights managed." The lights went off immediately swallowing her up in the darkness of the room until she swiftly closed the door quietly behind her.

"Why are you drinking your pumpkin juice while you're plugging your nose Ronald?"

Ron glanced at Hermione while they sat in the eating room feasting on meat loaf surprise. At Hermione's question Ron kept his nose plugged and his voice came back whiney and nasal. Hermione couldn't help but smile as Harry snickered beside them.

"I'm eating with my nose plugged because I hate the smell of meatloaf surprise but I love the taste of it. Why do you always have to ask so many questions Hermione?"

"Because I love asking them, especially since I know they annoy you so much." Hermione wrinkled her nose at Ron when an announcement came that there mail was arriving by the usual owl delivery.

Her owl was spotted and beautifully majestic, gliding into the window of Hogwarts and landed smoothly in front of Hermione's plate filled with her half eaten dinner.

She took the mail from the owl, slid her hand down the creature's sleek furry back and nodded for his okay to return home to her mother and father. The owl gave her a saucy wink before he departed from the room leaving the single piece of mail in Hermione's waiting hands. She wondered if her parents had sent her their monthly newsletter from home, or if this was some form of—

She glanced down at the mail and saw a picture of a lighthouse that blinked a flashing light, moving at about every two or three seconds across the post card. Myrtle had written something scrawled at the bottom printed in neat tidy letters,

"Decided to go back to my favorite place and wanted to scare the sailor's as they travel in from the sea. This flashing light moving around and around keeps the sailor's on their toes; it keeps them wondering what the light keeper is doing in there! Was appointed as the new light keeper on the island, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Wish you were here,

Your special friend,

Myrtle, no longer Moaning"

Harry had peeked at the card and read it out loud to the group. Hermione smiled and Ron joked, "Good. Maybe she'll find a ghostly boyfriend on one of those sailor' ships and leave our poor Harry alone."

Thinking of Harry's dilemma which had actually started the whole adventure in the first place Hermione smiled, set down the post card and thought out loud with a small sigh, "Perhaps she will."

The End