Chapter 28 - Tearful Goodbye

Ava stood at the edge of the forest, the morning mist curling around her ankles as the rising sun cast a golden hue across the clearing. Beside her were Dumbledore, Lupin, and Angelina. The silence was thick, heavy with everything left unsaid. She adjusted the powder-blue Beauxbatons uniform that felt stiff and unfamiliar on her body, foreign in a way that Hogwarts never had.

She turned to Dumbledore. "Thank you for arranging this, Professor."

He gave her a long, solemn look, then inclined his head. "It saddens me, Miss Johnson, that this is the path you've chosen. But Hogwarts will always be an option, should you change your mind."

She offered him a small, wavering smile. "I know. But… I think this is what's best. For everyone."

As if summoned by her words, the sky darkened slightly as the outline of a powder-blue carriage appeared overhead, drawn by two massive white Abraxans with glinting wings. The thundering of their hooves echoed faintly as they descended and landed a few yards away, their breath forming plumes in the cold morning air.

Ava's chest tightened.

She turned to Angelina, whose face crumpled the second their eyes met. "Don't go," Angelina whispered as she rushed into her arms. "Please, Ava… don't go."

Ava held her cousin tightly, burying her face in her shoulder. "I have to. I promise to write, okay? All the time. As much as I can." She pulled back and brushed a tear from Angelina's cheek with a shaking hand. "I love you."

Angelina nodded, her arms still clinging to her. "Love you too."

Lupin stepped forward next, a folded piece of parchment in his hand. His voice was soft. "This is my address." He hesitated. "During school breaks… you'll need somewhere to go. I–if you'd like. It's yours."

Ava looked up at him, surprised by how uncertain he sounded. For a man who faced war and loss, it struck her as deeply human that he could still fear rejection, especially from her. Her heart twisted.

"I'd like that," she said quietly. "I'd love to stay with you."

Lupin's face softened with something more than relief. She tucked the paper into her coat pocket carefully, like it was something sacred.

Ava turned to Angelina again. "Have you seen Fred?"

Angelina avoided her eyes. "I told George where you were going… and that you'd be leaving this morning. He said he'd tell him."

Ava inhaled slowly, nodding though her chest ached. "Yeah. I figured he wouldn't come." Her throat thickened, and she tried to swallow past the knot forming there. "I really blew it between us."

The door to the carriage creaked open, and out stepped a towering woman cloaked in elegant silks. Madame Maxime, her presence dignified and commanding. Dumbledore greeted her with a courteous bow, kissing her hand as they exchanged words in low, fluid French.

Ava turned one last time to face the people who meant the most to her. Angelina, shoulders trembling, stood tucked against Lupin, who had one arm around her protectively. Hogwarts loomed behind them, its stone walls glowing gold in the morning light, half-shrouded in mist.

"Promise you won't forget us?" Angelina called, her voice thick with tears.

"I promise," Ava said, her throat tight.

She climbed into the carriage, her limbs moving as if underwater. Madame Maxime followed behind and sat across from her, silent and composed.

With the creak of wood and the thunderous wingbeats of the Abraxans, the carriage lifted from the ground. Ava leaned toward the window, watching the earth drop away beneath her.

She scanned the lawn one last time. Lupin. Angelina. The edge of the forest.

And then, something moved in the distance. A flash of red hair. Someone running.

Her heart stuttered.

Was that–?

She craned her neck, trying to get a better view. But the carriage dipped slightly, and a tall tree rose between her and the field below, obscuring everything. When they cleared it, the spot was empty. Only the soft green lawn remained.

She pressed her fingers to the window, squinting into the clouds as if she could will them to part.

"You're seeing things, Ava," she whispered. "It wasn't him."

Madame Maxime's voice broke the quiet. "Eez somesing wrong?"

Ava quickly blinked and leaned back in her seat, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders.

She shook her head.

"No. Nothing at all."

She didn't look out the window again.


Fred tore across the grass, lungs burning, the wind whipping through his hair as he sprinted toward the clearing beyond the castle. Overhead, the soft rumble of hooves cut through the sky like a cruel reminder. He looked up.

The pale blue carriage was already rising.

"No, no, no, no–" he gasped, pushing harder, faster. His legs screamed in protest as he charged up the slope toward the clearing, his heart punching against his ribs. He had to reach her. Had to say something. Anything.

By the time he reached the edge of the forest, the carriage had already started climbing into the clouds. The silhouette of a girl at the window vanished behind a thick tangle of tree branches. He skidded to a halt, eyes straining to catch a glimpse, just a glimpse.

But there was nothing now.

A long moment of silence followed, only the echo of his breath and the distant rush of wings in the air.

Fred dropped to his knees in the grass and slammed a fist into the earth.

"FUCK!"

The shout ripped from him like a storm, raw and ragged. He dropped to his knees in the grass and punched the earth, fists clenched, shoulders trembling. All week, he'd been a prat. All week, he'd ignored her, shut her out, and acted like she didn't matter when she meant everything. And now she was gone.

"I should've said something. I should've stopped her. Bloody hell–" He dragged both hands through his hair, voice shaking. "Why didn't I stop her?"

Behind him, soft footsteps approached. Angelina knelt beside him, her expression tight with grief. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"She didn't just leave you, Fred," she said quietly. "She left all of us."

Fred didn't answer.

Angelina swallowed, her voice wavering. "You think I didn't try to talk her out of it? You think I didn't tell her how fucking stupid this is? She still left." Her jaw clenched. "Because she thought she had to."

Fred turned his face away, the sting in his eyes undeniable.

Fred raked a hand through his hair, eyes burning. "And I let her think she was alone in this. I didn't even try…"

"You were scared," came another voice, lower, older.

They turned to see Lupin standing a few feet behind them, his expression shadowed with understanding. Beside him, Dumbledore watched silently for a moment, hands clasped loosely in front of him. Then, with a quiet nod more to himself than anyone else, he turned and walked back toward the castle, his robes sweeping through the grass, leaving the moment to those it belonged to.

Lupin stepped forward, eyes soft behind the lines of age and grief. "When you love someone," he said slowly, "sometimes the fear of losing them makes you push them away first. You think it'll hurt less when they go."

Fred didn't speak. His throat was too tight.

"I know what it's like," Lupin continued. "To watch someone you love walk away because you thought it was what was best. And I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Fred looked up at him, the storm still heavy in his chest.

"She didn't stop loving you, Fred," Lupin said quietly. "She just thought saying it would make it harder to leave."

Angelina wiped her cheek, trying not to cry. "She'll write," she said, more to reassure herself than anyone else. "She promised."

Fred stared at the sky, now empty.

"She shouldn't have had to go," he whispered. "None of this should've happened."

Lupin didn't argue. He only placed a steady hand on Fred's shoulder and let the silence settle between them.

And in that silence, they all stood, three people left behind, watching the sky for someone who was already gone.