Chapter 25
Breakfast was a happy affair. Plate after plate disappeared between the lot of them, stress or exhaustion having built up a massive appetite for them all. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the common room, packing their trunks, and helping Hermione return the last of her library books.
Even with all of them helping--though they only let Rebecca carry a few of the smallest books--Every single one of them had things to carry. Ron bid them a good trip and settled into his chair by the fire, never having been more thankful that Madam Pomfrey was out of instant Skele-grow and only had the slow-effect one.
"You are forbidden from checking out more than five books at a time next year." Ginny groaned.
"This is a little absurd." Rebecca tacked on.
Hermione smiled, admitting that she may have gone a little overboard. "I've decided to go a little easier on myself next year.
Harry returned her smile, though it disappeared at Rebecca's next comment.
"Really? I thought you had extra time this year."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, sensing a deeper message. "'Extra?'"
Rebecca smirked. "You heard me."
Fred pulled Rebecca into a side conversation while hermione and Harry were in shock at the fact that Rebecca, who hadn't even been told about their time-travelling adventure yet, had known about Hermione all along.
"Ready for supper?" Fred asked, shifting his books to fit under his arm so he could take one more from Rebecca in case they were too heavy.
"Fred, I can-"
"Announcing the House Cup winners and then officially giving us the Quidditch Cup!" Fred grinned. "And then we're done, another year finished."
"Probably good." Rebecca said with a yawn. "I'm ready to go home, you know?"
Fred nodded. Of all the Weasleys returning to the Burrow, he might have known most of all how ready one could be to return home.
Madam Pince was relieved to see all of her precious books coming back at last.
"Rebecca," Hermione directed. "You have the A-books so you put yours down first. Harry, you're the next batch. George-thank you."
Rebecca knew they were walking slower than usual, but she wasn't sure if she was embarrassed that they were babying her or relieved because she was out of breath and tired by the time they got back to Ron in the common room.
"Plenty of time until dinner." Harry announced vaguely, saying his meaning more specifically when Rebecca didn't seem to get it. "If anyone were to want a rest, I mean."
"Guys, I'm-" Hermione gave Rebecca such a hard stare Rebecca backtracked. "I'm going to close my eyes for a little."
Hermione looked back down to the one book she had yet to finish before the year was officially over and turned the page triumphantly. Rebecca tossed a pillow from the couch onto the floor in front of the ember-fueled fireplace. Despite her previous reluctance towards the idea, Rebecca was asleep in minutes.
Her body was working in overdrive, rebuilding and refilling the magical stores within her that had been emptied. Had the spell lasted a few seconds longer, there wouldn't have been any magic left in her body and Rebecca would have either died due to shock or awoken unable to perform even the simplest of spells.
The others relaxed idly above her, discussing the events of the past few days or enjoying the silence of the company of friends. No one willingly discussed the fact that they would be going their separate ways the next day, not as long as they were able to avoid it.
*******************************************
George let out an impatient huff as Harry went up the boys' stairs to put Ron's things with his trunk. "Hurry! It's nearly dinner!"
"What do you think has his wand in a knot?" Fred said under his breath next to Rebecca, refreshed after a rest and ready for their last meal in the castle. "We've already won the Quidditch cup, for Merlin's sake!"
Rebecca stifled a laugh, not wanting George's irritation to be turned onto her. "He's probably just ready to go home, too."
Fred nodded in agreement. Fred was so utterly, desperately relieved that it was time to go home. This year had been one of his hardest so far--Balancing case-making with prank-making and prank-planning, as well as the whole 'murderer-who-isn't-actually-a-murderer-but-has-been-after-Harry-and-Rebecca-all-year' thing.
Fred wasn't filled with the melancholy he had been of years past sitting along the benches of the Great Hall for the last supper.
Rebecca looked over her friends one by one, finding that they all looked older after the year they had. They had grown in age and wisdom through the hardships and trials of third year. She and Harry had both learned a lot about forgiveness and their pasts that year, as well as lessons on trusting their friends with their worries and how to love and be loved.
The Great Hall was decked from ceiling to floor with decorations of red and gold, Gryffindor having had enough points to secure both the House and the Quidditch cups that year. Professor McGonagall simply glowed with pride at the staff table, her joy reflected in every Gryffindor face in the crowd.
"Oh Harry and Hermione!" Ron gasped. "I forgot to tell you, Dad's gotten tickets to the Quidditch World Cup and said to tell you that, if you wanted, you have a tickets!"
"WHAT?!" Fred, George, Rebecca, and Ginny shouted in unison.
"Oh." Ron blushed. "Maybe I forgot to tell all of you." Ron filled the rest of them in on everything else that had been in the letter from Molly and Arthur weeks before, including the fact that the Burrow now had a telephone. The celebration at dinner continued into a celebration in the common room.
This time, Rebecca and Fred sat on a couch in between their friends instead of sleeping against each other beneath a window. Though, as discreet as they thought they were being, every single one of their friends saw how their hands lied curiously close to one another's between them.
*******************************************
Boarding the Hogwarts Express was even easier than years before since all three of the girls had actually managed to finish their packing before instead of performing their annual scramble to finish the morning of leaving.
After a quick breakfast, they were all settled into a compartment and counting down the hours until they were set to arrive in London. Half-way through their long journey, a small dark owl pecked at the window and struggled to keep up with the train. Rebecca stood up, as she was next to the window, and opened it so that the little owl could hop in.
A little hoot escaped the grateful owl and the letter tied to its leg was said to have been from Sirius.
"Harry and Rebecca,
I'm doing some traveling right now as things get dealt with about my criminal-status and the Ministry...boring stuff like that. I'll be keeping away from Hogwarts to avoid causing you two anymore trouble. Hedwig will know how to find me--I am always available for you two, for any reason.
Harry, I forgot to mention with everything going on that I am glad you found the Firebolt to be an adequate replacement for your Nimbus 2000. I also wanted to say that it's quite funny that Rebecca ended up a Chaser. James was as well, always said he had children to continue 'his legacy.' (Yes, he would actually say this in complete seriousness. Yes, we did give him a smack every time.)
I have attached a signed permission slip for Hogsmeade next year Harry, no need to sneak about. Give it to Dumbledore, he'll accept it.
Ron,
This little guy is for you. I realise that in everything that has happened, I never apologised for the loss you have been forced to take. I hope he is a suitable companion. Though, be warned, he does not like sunflower seeds. If you offer them, expect a quick and painful reminder.
Just as with Harry and Rebecca, I am here if you or Hermione should ever need me.
Sirius
The letter gave them all something to talk about for the last remaining portion of their trip, Harry and Rebecca finding that the worst part of the end of second term had arrived far quicker than they imagined it could have.
The owl quickly took a liking to Ron, bouncing between his shoulder and Ginny's with little chirps and hoots coming from him in an overflow of excitement.
"What about Pigwidgeon, Ron? He seem like a Pigwidgeon to you?" Ginny offered, laughing as the little owl settled on Ron's shoulder tiredly.
"Yeah, yeah he does." Ron patted Pigwidgeon's head and gave Ginny a smile.
*******************************************
King's Cross was the bustling travel-centre it always was, especially at the end of the school year. Harry and Rebecca walked next to each other, Harry making sure she had every copy of the Dursleys' phone number he had written for her.
"Yes, Harry!" Rebecca laughed. "You've given it to me four times!"
Fred hadn't quite wrapped his head around the telephone. "Now these tellyphones...they'll take you to him?" His confusion was evident.
"Not quite." Rebecca gave him a little smile. "I'll show you when we get back." Rebecca looked over Harry's shoulder and found the very Muggles she had been looking for. "Harry? We should go say hello, don't you think?"
Harry tried to tell her to be nice, but his warnings fell on deaf ears. "Hello!" Rebecca pulled Petunia and then Vernon into hugs like they were the best of friends, ignoring Dudley entirely. "I just wanted to make you aware that we've recently gotten a telephone! I'll be in contact with Harry all summer long."
Harry wanted to smile at the way Vernon's face paled and Petunia's eyes widened, even more so at Rebecca's next statement.
"We recently learned about another family member of ours, great man. He just escaped Wizards' prison after being incarcerated for twelve years for mass murder! He'll be keeping in touch with Harry as well, making sure there aren't any barring circumstances."
A strange squeak escaped Petunia's mouth as Rebecca turned to Harry, realising that she had made the perfect pun regarding the bars on his windows two years earlier. "Harry..." She didn't know what to say. It was easy to disarm their aunt and uncle, it was impossible to tell him how much she would miss him, how much she loved him.
"I know. I love you, too." Harry let his trolled stand up and walked her back in the direction of the Weasleys. "There was actually something that occured to me, something that I have to tell you before you go." Harry bit the inside of his lip, knowing that this was right but knowing that it hurt him all the same. "Once Sirius has himself all sorted and everything...I don't expect you to leave your home for a new one."
"It's not-"
"I want to live with you so we never have to say goodbye, don't get me wrong." Harry mustered a smile for her. "But I know that you and I? We're family. I don't need to live with you to know that. I can't ask you to leave somewhere that makes you happy."
Rebecca pulled him into a hug, kissing his cheek and wiping at her cheek before it was too obvious that he had said exactly what she needed to hear. "Did you like that bit about Sirius back there?"
"Loved it. I expect a nice, quiet summer."
"Until the World Cup." Rebecca reminded him.
Harry nodded, a spark of excitement igniting inside of him. "Until the World Cup."
*******************************************
Molly waited next to Arthur impatiently as Rebecca lingered at the end of the walkway, watching until Harry had left her sight entirely. Hermione had said her goodbyes first, which was probably good. Molly tapped her foot angrily.
"Darling," Arthur began. "Please, could you stand still?" He had already greeted their children who had joined them for the both of them.
"Don't you 'darling' me!" Molly snapped. "You should be just as angry as I am!"
"Fine then, love." Arthur sighed. "You're going to scare her."
Molly rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, waiting for Rebecca to walk to them. Rebecca held her glasses in one hand and used the shoulder of her sleeve to wipe the remaining emotion from her eyes. Sliding her glasses back over her ears, Rebecca found Molly looking at her with emotions of her own clear across her face. "I'm sorry. I-I just wanted to see him off." In Rebecca's mind, it occurred to her that she had held them all up and delayed their exit by being so selfish, so self-centered.
George put his hand to his face, covering his eyes. He did not want to see the impending explosion.
"THAT IS NOT WHAT IS THE MATTER!" Molly nearly shouted, her raised voice catching the eyes of those around her. "We will speak about this further in the car." Molly turned and led the way.
Behind her, Arthur patting Rebecca's shoulder gently. "It'll be alright, she's just-" Molly turned around and narrowed her eyes at Arthur, cutting him off in the middle of his sentence. "She'll calm down eventually...probably."
"I didn't even get a hug." Rebecca noted to herself, finding that the fact sent a pang through her chest that ached horribly. Rebecca had never had Molly mad at her before, not really.
Once in the carpark, Arthur and the boys spent a long time reorganising the trunks in the boot of the car to put off the tension they knew would fill the car ride home. Molly got into the passenger seat and pointed for Rebecca to get into the back.
"We got a parcel of sleep-aiding potion this morning with a letter from Madam Pomfrey and a letter from Professor McGonagall. Subconscious premonitions? Over-casted your magic? These are topics that required contacting of your guardians, if you ask me!"
Rebecca flinched, looking anywhere but at Molly for a long moment.
Molly lowered her voice, guilt filling her. "I didn't mean to shout." They sat in quiet until molly continued. "When we read the letters and realised how much was going on that we had no idea about...I was scared, terrified! McGonagall briefly explained what happened with Sirius Black but--over-cast? You could have killed yourself!"
"I could have died, yes." Rebecca blinked quickly. "I could have died thirteen years ago, too. I didn't. I could have died last year, but I didn't."
Molly sighed. "Yes, I do see a pattern." Molly reached for Rebecca's hand and waited until the young girl looked her in the eyes to continue. "Don't let your good luck turn into disregard. Past events never guarantee the future's layout and for Merlin's sake--Write more often!"
Rebecca promised that she would before finding that no matter how hard she blinked, tears welled in her eyes all the same. "Does this mean that I can have a hug when we get home?"
"No, love." Molly reached for Rebecca. "You can have one right now. I'm sorry."
They were embracing each other when Arthur opened the door and poked his head in. "Is it safe to get in now?"
Molly laughed and nodded, wiping at her cheeks that were now streaked with tears.
"That could have been so much worse." Ginny whispered, squeezing between Rebecca and George. "So, so much worse."
Fred had taken his customary spot against the window on the other side of Rebecca, glancing down at her as Arthur began to back out of the spot. "All's well?"
"Yeah, all's well." Rebecca said with a little smile.
*******************************************
Author's Note:
Goodness, that's it! We're done with Prisoner of Azkaban!
I'm pretty happy with how this one came out, but I found myself waiting and waiting to finally get to Goblet of Fire. I hope you all found it enjoyable, I am trying to deepen my plot add-ons as I go through and edit the original stories.
The next book will be up momentarily, look for Found.