The Lion and the Eagle |Neville Longbottom|

Epilogue

            I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see Hogwarts again. I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to return. I hadn't wanted to, not initially. I wasn't afraid of the castle but the memories that would haunt me.

Academics could keep me away from those dark thoughts, I knew.

Any students who hadn't graduated due to the Battle had gotten owls almost immediately after construction was complete. I suddenly felt like a preteen again when I got the letter, like I had gotten my first one from the school. It brought me back to simpler times.

I felt eleven all over again, as though this was the first time for me for the Hogwarts Express. Mum and Dad followed me through Platform 9 ¾, with Nala in her little crate amongst my luggage. The excitement, the apprehension, it was all there.

I wonder how different things will be this year. Perhaps heightened security? Harder coursework to better prepare ourselves for the cruelty of the world?

"Jen!" Mum had to steer me at the last second; I'd nearly run over people who weren't expecting to get hit with a luggage cart. "Got something on your mind?"

"Just nerves," I said honestly. "This year will be different from all the rest." Mainly because my best friends weren't returning with me. Truthfully I didn't know of anyone in my year that was going back that I would know. It felt like a lifetime since I had last stepped on school grounds.

"Hopefully a good different," Mum agreed.

"Oi!"

I pulled the cart to a halt and spun, ready to chew the person out who so rudely called me out, but I relaxed. In fact, I smiled. It had been up in the air if Neville could pull away from Auror duties long enough to see me off to Hogwarts. He'd opted to not return to finish school, which he had the right to. I'd heard that Harry and Ron opted out as well, but Hermione had been ecstatic to want to go back.

"Oi?" I questioned him mockingly. "Is that any way to greet your girlfriend?"

Neville's cheeks quickly turned pink. "I probably could've done that better."

"Yes, you really could have. I'm glad you could make it though."

"It's not every day you're on the other end of things, seeing someone off rather than getting on the express yourself."

"Nice to see you again, Neville," Mum told him with a beaming smile. "We'll, uh, let you two say your goodbyes." She pulled Dad aside, maneuvering through foot traffic to find a nice spot a distance away.

"There's always time to rethink not returning," I teased Neville.

"Nah, I think the last year or so has helped me figure out what I want to do. This is it."

"If you're sure. You promise to write to me?"

"As long as you promise to do the same."

I nodded once. "Are you really sure—?"

"Jen, I'm not going back. That's not my path, it's yours. I know, I know, you want me close by." He chuckled. "When the holiday breaks come around, we can see each other then."

"But that will take forever to get here!"

"If you look at it like that, sure, it will. But if you focus on your schoolwork, the days will pass. You'll see."

"Oh, Jenelle, there you are!" came Hermione's loud exclamation. Neville and I jumped apart as though someone shocked us. Hermione's cheeks went pink. "Sorry, I was interrupting."

"No, no, it's better if you did," I insisted. "We need to board." I peeked past the brunette to find her husband nowhere in sight. "Ron couldn't make it?"

"Oh, he's here. I thought he was behind me."

Ron was, just leagues behind, pushing his way past bodies. "Blimey, Hermione," he said once he caught up to us, "I've never seen you move so fast. Didn't think I was going to find you in all this. Hey, Jenelle, Neville."

"Good, you two can walk off the platform together, we seriously need to move," I said.

"I'm ready when you are," said Hermione.

With parting hugs, kisses, and waves, Hermione and I boarded the Hogwarts Express. We found an empty carriage, happily occupying it. The train began to move slowly under us. Through all the faces in the crowd, I found Neville and my parents.

"It's scary," I blurted. "Going back, I mean."

"It'll be different," Hermione admitted. "But, we'll know each other. That's something."

"You know, you'll probably be one of the oldest students there."

Hermione shrugged. "So what?"

"And your name is pretty well-known. Not quite like Harry's, but close enough. You might be the talk of the school."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with my coursework, let them talk. What House do you belong to?"

"Ravenclaw."

The brunette's lips pursed in thought. "I can see it. Either that or Hufflepuff. Regardless, I'm sure the Sorting Hat chose correctly for you."

"Just like I'm sure it did for you." While I wasn't her best friend, in the short time I'd been near Hermione, her Gryffindor qualities shone through.

"Let's make the best of our final year. Let's shake on it."

I chuckled at Hermione's childish gesture. I shook her hand anyway.