ROSE
I sat in my seat, feeling exhausted from todays events. My face felt puffy from all the crying that I've done in the past couple of hours, and I could tell that I looked absolutely disheveled right now.
Basically, I was a mess who looked like hell.
Ugh, major turn off to Scorpius, I bet.
I sighed as I leaned back into my seat, staring at my best friend's dead body. I was contemplating on whether I should leave the hospital wing. But I chose to stay here. Though the sight of her dead made me want to go mental, I held it in. For some reason, I felt like I just had to stay here.
It wasn't obligation, no. It was more of something that you simply had to do for one of your fellow companions. She's still my friend, dead or not. Lizzie's my best mate, even though I am just second to Al in Lizzie's friends list. I always had known that I was just second in line, but for some reason, I hadn't mind at all. I've always felt like Al and I were in a tie for first. But with Al being Al all the time, of course he was a shoo in.
He just knew her quite better than I had. They both had an undeniably close relationship, even just as friends. They're practically connected to one another.
I know they both love each other, even if they're only both so young. However, sometimes, people just find that one person who you're connected to. But I had always felt there was so much more connection in their relationship than they could see. They had something...special, even if it didn't just pass the friendship zone. They had one heck of a friendship and I admired it. It was something I just couldn't have.
Al had left to go look at the memories at a pensieve, finally detaching himself from her side. I was personally relieved that he had. He's been at her side ever since she...died. It took three people to pull his arms away from her body earlier. I've never seen him so broken.
He really did deserve a break.
I mean, he just had the girl he loved and his best mate die in his arms. That's already traumatizing. It made me think on how he would be like after today. What was the aftermath to this whole situation?
Would he be one in denial? Or would he be one of those people who raged? Who wasn't like themselves, or would he return to how he was like when he was younger? Quiet, but worst.
I should admit this, now that I think about it. Lizzie changed Al, for the better. Before Hogwarts, Al was a lot more quieter than he is now. Sure, he talked...But he wasn't almost as happy or spontaneous as James. He still harbors the habit for being slightly a bit more reserved. However, he's a bit more out of his shell compared to how he was when we were kids.
Before, James and Al use to be completely and utterly total opposites. But now, they're practically the same (Okay, I'm being slightly melodramatic. They're almost the same.). Only Al's a bit more controlled and responsible than James. It wasn't the fact that Al had started at Hogwarts, then he had started to speak. No.
But ever since he met Liz, he seemed less troubled. Somehow she influenced him to be more...outgoing and optimistic towards living life. And we were all thankful.
By we, I mean everyone in my family. Especially James, Lilly, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Ginny.
So thank you, Lizzie. Wherever you are.
I miss you and I wish you would just come back. But...you can't.
I wondered on how long it would take for everyone to recover from Lizzie's death. Everything wouldn't be the same now. Lizzie's family was devasted, as well as mine. Lily was really taking it hard since Liz was practically like an older sister to her. The other girls aren't taking her death as well. However, the boys are just the same.
They were always the closest to Liz. Especially James, Fred, and Al. Though Scorpius wasn't as close to Liz like Al, they were still good mates. He had mentioned before that Liz grew on him as the years passed. They were somewhat close and he considered her as a sister. It's even hard for him as well.
I held back a sob, trying to be the Gryffindor that I am. I had to be strong for Liz, for everyone. Moments later, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and found Lizzie's gran, shooting me a weak comforting smile.
"It's alright, liebling." She said. Lizzie's gran was part German and grew up in Germany for a few years when she was a kid. Well that's what Liz told me. Liebling meant 'Darling' or 'Honey' in German. The language was odd to me, but I didn't care. "She's in a better place."
I looked up, surprised that she wasn't shedding tears like the rest of the people outside the Hospital Wing. But then I could see it. I saw the pain and hurt in her eyes. She too, was trying to be strong for all of us. Especially Lizzie's dad.
I nodded. "She is. She should be happy there. She's been put out of her misery, and she gets to see her mother." I smiled back up at her.
Lizzie's gran rubbed my back, "Try not to be too sad, liebling." She said, "She wouldn't want you to be that way."
"But it's just so hard. I just lost my best friend." I said exasperated. "It's just...too hard."
At that moment the doors blasted open and in came a disheveled Professor Bell. Her clothes and hair was fine. But the look on her face was troubled, worried, sad, and full of hope. "Tell me it isn't true!" She shouted as she stormed to Lizzie's death bed. Her steps and what seemed like her breathing, slowed down as she got closer to Lizzie's body. Following behind her was Lizzie's dad, Uncle Jake.
Professor Katie Bell stood there as she took in the sight of her. Her face, completely in shock.
"N-no. I-I-It can't be. She can't be dead!" Her voice rose towards the end. Professor Bell gripped the steel bars of the footboard at the end of Lizzie's bed as tears streamed down her cheeks, her face crunched up in anger.
"Shhhh, Katie. It'll be okay." Jake said, trying to calm Katie down.
"I-I-I never e-even got to s-say goodbye!" She exclaimed through her sobs as she broke down crying hysterically. Seeing this woman that was almost like a mother to Liz break down, broke my heart. It was if Professor Bell had lost her own child. After what seemed like forever, her sobs finally decreased. "I'm too late. I w-was just too late." She muttered as she slowly pulled out a small vile in her hands.
I eyed the vile curiously as she looked longly at it, shaking her head. "Professor Bell," I spoke up, my voice still croaky. "What is that you're holding?"
The young middle-aged woman looked at it before she gave out a weak smile towards me. "The cure." She finally said.
All of our heads snapped in her direction. "Thats what?" Lizzie's father's voice was hardly above a whisper, but we had heard it. His voice was filled with disbelief; shock. The silence throughout the school was definitely so thick that you'd need a chainsaw to cut through it.
Deaths of a person of whom you knew were hard in this school. Not many students died here at Hogwarts around these days. It was a new generation, and there wasn't any Dark Lord to tear us all apart. Heaps of people knew Lizzie, and not just for the fact that she hung around Potters and Weasleys.
Everyone loved her for her, and then there were those people who simply got jealous.
Professor Bell cleared her throat. "The cure." She said a bit more loudly. "That's why I've been gone for weeks. Practically past a month. I've already known what the cure was. Though the ingredients were extremely hard to extract. I've been doing research to where I could possibly find it all, but I eventually did. There were so many ingredients, and I've never seen a more complex potion. I finally completed the brewing process hours ago in Romania. I somehow managed to chase the ingredients all the way there. But now...this potion is useless to anyone here now. She's gone." She shook her head, as if she didn't want to believe it. "She was always like a daughter to me. I've always tried to be there...But I'm gutted that now I can't.."
I looked at the Professor in awe as she gave out a strong, but glum face. I knew that she wanted to yell, even cry, and get angry. But she couldn't. She had to be strong.
Lizzie's dad pulled up a stool for her, making her sit. She let out a long sigh and buried her face in her hands whilst Jake rubbed her back in comfort. I looked up at Lizzie's gran's face, who had an admired look on her face. I didn't know why, but I brushed it off. I leaned forward, grabbing lizzie's hand as I stared longly at my best friend.
I turned around, but found that Lizzie's grandmother was no longer there, along with Katie Bell and Uncle Jake.
So it was just me, and Lizzie's dead body.
As creepy that may sound, it didn't feel that odd. It just felt as if she was simply asleep, or in a coma.
"I wish you were." I mumbled to Liz. There was no one here. No one could judge me now for talking to a dead body. "I feel like I'm talking to someone in a coma...But I know you won't be able to hear me. I know that. I just wish I could hug you again, talk and gossip, have a girls night and stay up late, prank. I wish I could still yell at you for not finishing up your potions essay. I wish you and Al would finally just get together. He's devastated as well as everyone else...Oh Liz, I wish I could just get a response from you. I wish you could squeeze my hand at least. But- oh who am I kidding I'm talking to a dead person here. I going mental. Liz, we all love and need you here so much." I felt the hand I was holding squeeze back, "Scorpius is probably not gonna want me anymore because I'll be so ment- wait. D-d-d-did you just squeeze back? Liz!" I jumped out of my seat, with both of my hands encircled around Lizzie's left hand. "Lizzie? A-are you alive?"
Right now, I didn't know what to think. I was shocked that the hand had squeezed back. But Lizzie's dead, right? I sound stupid for asking her if she was alive. But a dead person can't live. That was the difference between the Dead and the Living.
It was hard to believe that she could be alive, but then again, it was also hard to believe that she was dead.
"Lizzie, I know I sound stupid for talking, but if you're alive, can you squeeze back my hand!" I asked in a hurried-bewildered tone. I felt her hand squeeze my hand back slowly and I gasped in shock.
Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep.. Beep. Beep.
My head snapped back up to the monitor that was hooked up by her side. Now you're wondering why they attached a monitor to a dead person. Well they wanted to see how fast every other organ in her body died. But anyway, never mind that! I looked at the monitor with wide eyes as I saw her heart beat pick up to a normal level. When I looked at every other status for each of her body organs, everything was starting to work once again.
By now, I was hyperventilating with shock, happiness, hope, and a whole lot of other emotions. Every emotion in me was kicking out of my body from side to side, not beliving what was unfolding in front of me.
When I looked back at Liz, her eyes started to open and I grinned in awe, a small tear slipping down from my eyes once again.
For Lizzie was alive.
LIZZIE
I slowly opened my eyes, trying to let it adjust to the light around me, which took longer than I had expect it. But I suppose it should be expected since everything in my body did die.
It wasn't too bright in the room, thank goodness. I was faced away from the window, but from what the light's reflection off of the white wall was giving, it seemed like it was late in the after noon. It wasn't that bright out, yet it seemed all too pale.
I was laid down and I felt something slightly cushy underneath me. Since I couldn't see just yet, I was internally begging on my knees hoping that I wouldn't be already in a coffin.
Oh Merlin, please no.
But then again, Rose was here. I moved my right hand to the side a bit more, feeling if there was any wall of some sort. But no, I just felt a ledge.
I was on a bed, but mentally sighed in relief at my discovery. I could hear Rose exclaiming around in the room. Finally, my eyes had adjusted and I was finally able to see again. I blinked a few times, ensuring my sight. I still laid in the same position as I felt a rush of energy swerve through me.
I looked at Rose who had her hand up to her mouth, probably covering the fact that she was gaping at the fact her best friend just rose from the dead.
How blunt.
I'm ruining all the seriousness right now, aren't I?
When I tried sitting up, I struggled. But within just a split second, Rose pulled me forward and engulfed me into a bone crushing hug. Which I returned with the strength that I harbored at the moment.
Rose started sobbing like a maniac, saying words that I couldn't make out through her wails. But it was alright with me. They were simply... tears of joy.
"Y-You're alive!" I managed to hear what she had said. I smiled. Normally I would be all out crazy on her, but hey, I'm still trying to get a feel on the rest of my body. I didn't have the energy for all my organs to work at once. Everything was still coming back to life. "I-I m-missed you so much! Don't you dare die on me again, Elizabeth Hart! Don't you dare! MADAME BONES! MADAME BONES!" She called out.
The matron quickly made her way here, hearing her footsteps clang down the walk way. "Merlin dear, what in the world is wrong!" She asked in a panic tone. "Wh- Miss Weasley! What are you doing with Miss Hart's body-" She gasped as she saw Rose pull away to show that I was alive. "My dear, you're alive."
I'm gonna get that a lot today, huh? It was starting to get old fast. As Rose supported my with one hand at my back, I rubbed my eyes a bit. Feeling odd. Feeling as if I had a clean slate in my life.
"I'm gonna tell the others." Rose said excitedly as she wiped off her tears, hurrying out from the hospital wing. Whilst screaming like she's gone mental.
She's a mad woman, I tell you. I fear for Scorpius' sanity.
But then again, I love the girl.
"So you've gotten The Choice, haven't you?" Madame Bones asked, sitting next to me on the bed whilst handing me a glass of water, which I gladly took.
"The Choice?" I asked, taking a sip from the glass. The liquid rushed through my dry throat, making me realize that I had been more parched then I had expected to be.
She nodded, "The Choice is one of the many un-believed cures to Hexheartonia. Since most people do not know what awaits them in death, it was to believed as a mythical cure. I'm sure that's what happened to you, yes?"
I nodded, "Yeah. I was in the...in-between and my mother.."- I smiled at the fact that I had remembered it all, "helped me choose between death and life." My voice was still slightly croaky, due to the parched throat I still had.
Madame Bones smiled, "How is your mother?"
"She's...happy." I told her. After a moment, I asked, "You think I'll be able to stand up? Rose is kinda taking long. I'm assuming everyone thinks she'd gone mad." I chuckled nervously.
The matron smiled, "if you think you can." I swung my legs over to the ground off the bed, then pushed myself off onto my feet. I stood cautiously for a moment before taking a few steps.
"I can. Thank you." I said with a smile and with that, I walked off. As I neared the entrance and exit to the Hospital Wing, I heard a commotion and a few exclaims.
"Rosie, dear, I know it's hard to accept Lizzie's death. Bu-" Hermione said cautiously.
"I'm not mental!" Rose yelled as I opened the door a bit, finding almost everyone in the PWC, Alive, Scorp, my gran and Dad was there watching her with sad and worried looks. "She's alive! I wouldn't lie!"
"Rosi-" Ron began, but I had to cut in before things got out of hand.
"She's not lying." I said, moving out of the Hospital Wing's entry way.
Everyone gaped at me, as if I had died and come back to life again.
Which by the way, I just did.
Oh how weird was this or what?
ALBUS
I stood at the top of the astronomy tower, near the railings of the ledge, recalling my thoughts. I had just been in the room of requirement, looking in the pensieve that I had filled with Lizzie's memories to look at. I looked back at the box in my hands before I walked over to a table, setting it down before returning to my previous spot at the tower.
The viles in the shoebox were filled with Liz's memories. In fact, they were all labeled as well.
First Day at Hogwarts, First Detention, Meeting The PW Clan...it went on.
There were a few having to do with my brother, sister, and the rest of my family. But there were also some that had to do with me as well. There was even a vile that carried a montage of her favorite memories with me.
To me, this vile meant almost everything to me. It held our happy moments together. It hurt to just think that these memories were gone, and can't be relived.
Though there were happy memories in most of the viles in the shoebox, there was still an amount of them that contained sad memorable memories. But d'you know which was the most heartbreaking?
There was memory in the small vile that played a montage of flashbacks that had to do with me, Liz and partially Maci. They were all memories that started to the start of the school year. Starting from our train ride to Hogwarts.
It practically showed and played all her emotions, thoughts and memories of how she realized that she fancied me and what she went through (especially at the parts where Maci came along). It was like a story.
It showed parts of when she was checking me out, which got me flattered really. Then there were was that time she couldn't admit her feelings towards me until she eventually gave in. Then there was the blackmailing from Maci, which got me frustrated with that woman (Maci). More over, there were those moments she had that made her heart flutter when she was with me. But then everything got sad and depressing after. And then everything else played out in some sort of timeline up until before she died.
That included the fights, the arguments and basically everything dramatic that happened this year.
The memory was sad, yet happy. However, it was both.
All of it...It broke my heart. Stupid, I know, that may sound. But it was true. Now I know how she felt the whole time. I finally understood her thoughts.
Before she died, I always thought that she was sometimes taking it too much. With the argument with her father and all the depressed phases she went through. But now that I see it from her point of view, I understood. Everything was just so...complicated and sad for her. It was sometimes hard to keep up.
I remained standing by the railings, trying to accept her death. But I knew I couldn't just accept it yet too soon. I looked out the window that formed through the walls and stared out into the sky.
I wondered for a bit if she was watching me from heaven. If she was sad that everyone else and I were being sad over her death. Was she disappointed?
But mostly, I wondered if she was happier to where she was right now. Was she happier in place that put her out of her cursed torture? Or was she happier when she was still alive?
The bigger question was, did I make her happy? This was a question I've always contemplated before I could register the fact that we both harbored feelings for each other. That there was a possible chance of being together. As far as statuses and labels go, 'Best friends' was the furthest label that we've ever gotten together.
I knew I made her happy as a mate, but would I make her happy if I was her boyfriend? But I knew my answer to that.
I did make her happy, no matter what we were. Friends or...lovers? Nah, too mature wording. Mutual understanding?
Eh.
I guess that's better.
"I miss you, Liz." I spoke out, looking up at the sky which was gradually fading. I sighed, I'm mental.
"You really are going mental if you start talking to yourself like that. That's the first step." Lizzie's voice rang through my ears from what seemed to be slightly faint or far off. It was probably just my head, taking the tone of her voice and making it echo formed words in my brain. Had I really had said that last part out loud? "Yes, you did say it out loud." She replied again.
I looked up at the sky again and laughed a bit forcefully. "And hearing your voice in my head is the second?"
"Not using your hearing range and sensing other people around you should be the third." She said. But this time, her voice didn't seem a bit far off. They seemed...a bit nearer. I froze when I actually listened to what she said.
Her voice wasn't bouncing off in the back of my head. Her voice was coming right from behind me.
Uneasily and in confusion, I slowly turned around to find myself meeting a pair of brilliantly bright green eyes. Which just so happens to belong to...Liz.
What. The. Bloody. Hell.
I must be going mental.
LIZZIE
It was almost sunset and I was running around the school in search for Albus, who still hadn't known about my revival.
After everyone had finally gotten over the fact that my body stood in front of them rather than laying dead on a white bed, everything just got crazy.
Of course, everyone's first reaction was to seem stunned, but all the girls/women broke down crying hysterically. Obviously they reprimanded me for dying. But somehow, I ended up being crushed between all their hugs. The guys and the men of each family were simply just gaping. The only one who cried was Dad.
But he was my dad and he nearly lost me for good like Mum.
He deserved to cry.
I got a bunch of 'You're alive!' reactions, but they were ignored when all the kids of the PWC clan (Including Alice and Scorp, but minus Al and James) decided to tackle me with suffocating hugs while they all sobbed. When James returned, he did a double take and freaked out when he found out that I was alive. He went hysterical and at one point he said that he wanted to be admitted into St. Mungos' Mental Ward.
But eventually he calmed down. Kept on poking me as well, checking if I wasn't a ghost or not.
Finally, after 20 minutes of trying to convince him and a few well earned slaps to the upside of his head from Lily and Ginny, he gave in and encircled his arms around me in a smashing hug. Add in a few twirls
Of course my dad, gran, Katie and all the other women of the PWC family were bawling their eyes out. The only person who wasn't there was Percy, since he was too busy. But I didn't really care since he and I weren't always the closest.
But surprisingly, he did show up half an hour later.
I did, however, explain to what happened to me and how I am alive. They all found the whole non-fictional story interesting. And now, apparently, Percy wants to have a story written about me in the Daily Prophet.
No wonder he came.
But one of the most meaningful moments I probably had, was with Al's dad, Harry.
Flashback to the Moment of When Lizzie and Everyone (Aside from Al) Are in the Hallway of the Hospital Wing
I stood in the corner, watching everyone hug each other, happy that I'm alive. Every other minute I was getting countless hugs. I even got a slap on the arm from Lily because I died and made her a wreck.
I smiled at the fact that I meant so much to her. Well apparently, I do mean a lot to everyone around me.
"Lizzie." I looked up to find Harry standing next to me, looking at the scene in front of us.
"Hi Uncle Harry." I replied, looking back at the happy and joyous scene that was displayed among us.
"You feeling alright?" He asked.
I nodded my head slowly, "Starting to completely feel my organs work again." He nodded at my answer. "How was it like for you?" I asked after a few moments of not saying anything.
"How was what like?"
"Dying and ending up at a place that vaguely looked like King's Cross." I replied.
He gave a somewhat of a surprised look before turning curiously at me, "Confusing. I saw Dumbledore and Voldemort's mutated body that was covered in blood." He said. I gave a disgusted look at the image of having the dark wizard's body looking like a prune, bloody and all gross.
"Great...Mental image." I replied flatly. He chuckled at my reaction.
"How was it for you?"
"I met Dumbledore." I said, "He was quite...enigmatic. He never really made sense."
He chuckled, "He never really does when he always twists up words into a riddle."
I nodded in agreement, "Then I met my mother." I paused.
"Oh?" He replied, looking at me. "How is she? I wasn't quite close to her, I'm sorry."
I waved it off, "No, it's fine. She's a lot more happier now. She doesn't look dead either. I miss her."
And with that, he gave me one of those father-daughter like hugs. "You're family may not be complete, but you always have all of us. Remember that." He said with a smile after pulling away. I smiled back and nodded. "Now, I think it's about time Al finds out you're not dead anymore so he can stop being so sulky, eh?"
I laughed, "Uncle Harry?" I asked before running off.
"Yes?"
"Thank you." And with that, I ran off in search of finding him.
End of Flashback
So here I am now, running through the halls, making my way up to the Astronomy tower. Before I had even left the wing, I had grabbed the Marauder's map off of James in order to find Al, who had been at the top of the astronomy tower.
While I left, I could vaguely remember Lily and Dom saying how they want to celebrate my revival. So now, apparently there was gonna be a party in full swing by the time I get back.
When I finally stepped on the top step of the staircase to the tower, I found Al near the railings of the ledge. His hands were holding onto the railings that held him steady as he leaned a bit forward whilst looking out at the scenery before us. The sun was almost setting and the sky wasn't as bright as it was earlier.
His back was faced towards me as I stood next to the staircase, my right hand holding onto the railing. I couldn't see his face, but his back only. He was still wearing the same clothes I had last seen him in. I suppose I hadn't died that very long but only for a few hours or so.
I got suddenly anxious, tense, and nervous on how to break it to him on the fact that I was alive and not...dead.
Sure, I'll be like: 'Oh! Hey Al! I'm alive and everythings great again!'
Yeah. That would sure get the best response. I didn't even know how he would react. Would he be happy? Shocked? Angry? Raged? Or worst...emotionless and completely blank.
I inaudibly sighed. He hasn't noticed me yet, so I suppose that's good.
I gulped, trying to summon up the courage to say something. Bt before I could even say a word, he spoke out loud. "I miss you, Liz." I could see his head tilt up, as if he was looking up at the heavens, trying to communicate with me. I smiled at a moment, he sighed, then mumbled out, "I'm mental."
"You really are going mental if you start talking to yourself like that. That's the first step." I found myself saying. I hadn't planned on it, but it had just slipped out.
But he didn't do anything. Nor did he turn around and freak out that I was alive.
"Had I really had said that last part out loud?" He asked out loud. Obviously he thought he was hearing voices.
"Yes, you did say it out loud." I replied calmly as I cautiously and slowly made my way near him. To be honest, I wanted to scream his name and jump in his arms while we had that oh so cliche and cheesy moment where two people meet once again.
But no, this was reality. In reality, you can't fudge around with people's emotions. You can't expect them them to jump in your arms in happiness at the moment they see that you're actually alive and not dead.
In reality, there were many other ways to how a person can react to Al and I's little situation. He'd go blank, freak out, rage, get sad, or in some positive light, he would get happy and feel some relief.
He laughed, but in a tensed but forced way. "And hearing your voice in my head is the second?"
I mentally chuckled at the though of Al going crazy with the voices that bothered his mind. "Not using your hearing range and sensing other people around you should be the third." I said.
A few moments passed and his breathing seemed to hitch up and freeze, as well as his body. I heard him gulp loudly and take a deep breath in as he slowly turned around.
This was it. The moment of how he reacts to all of this. It's either a hit or a miss.
I'm rooting for a hit.
I was standing a good 5 feet away. Way past arms' length.
He stood there and took my sight in. His expression seemed stunned, just as how everyone was when I first made an appearance to them aside that, there was no other expression that he held. I feared what he was thinking this very moment.
Was he confused? Well of course. Did he believe I was alive? Was he mad? Was he broken? Was he...happy?Al hadn't said anything by now and it had already been a minute since the moment he turned around and he saw me.
While he looked at me, I took a good look at him a well. The front of his clothes seemed a bit crumpled an his hair was a bit of a mess. But it always was since he always dragged his fingers through it. It had been a habit he had formed along with James.
Like brother to brother.
His eyes were pink, probably due to the crying he did over me and I couldn't help but feel a wave of guilt and pity crash through me. It had been my fault I had made him cry.
I gulped, then decided to speak first. "I missed you Al." I said, almost a whisper.
And with that, he whipped his wand out and I slightly stepped back in surprise. "Who. Are. You?" He spoke curiously, but lowly.
"What the bloody hell Al! It's me!" I exclaimed. Obviously, I wasn't the smoothest person in the world and my 'Keep it Cool' act had been automatically switched to an 'Anxiously-Nervous-Wimp'.
I might as well run away now and move back to Australia or Washington and avoid Al for the rest of my life.
Seems reasonable, yeah? No? *Sighs* You lot never go with my plans.
"My best mate is dead. You're not Lizzie." He said lowly, almost mad. But he kept his cool and showed off imense curiosity instead.
I looked at him, giving him that 'Are you serious' look. But then again, I did die right before. I'm probably giving him a whiplash with me being dead and then becoming...not dead.
"Don't you dare say you are, coming here and toying with my emotions. Prove it." He replied, still eyeing me curiously, "What was the last thing Lizzie had given to me? And how many of it have you given to me?"
I swallowed before I spoke. "A box of viles. They were filled with my memories." I replied, this time, calmly. "I've placed about 42 of them."I bit my lip, hoping I had remembered correctly. But I'm pretty sure I've placed about at least 42 viles in there.
He crossed his arms, "No." He simply replied. "There wasn't 42 of them. There were 37."
My eyes slightly bugged out in disbelief. "37! Albus Severus Potter, I'm pretty sure that I've placed about 42 viles in that shoebox. They took a mightly long time to conjure every one of the- Hey!" I exclaimed as I came to a sudden realization when I noticed a growing smirk upon Al's face.
And just like that, I found myself in Albus Potter's arms all over again.
After getting over the fact that he had come closer to wrap his arms around me, I finally hugged back tightly and I couldn't help but smile as I did so. He kissed the top of my head and he apologized for questioning me. I couldn't blame him. With his guard down, I know he wouldn't be able to think completely straight. How would he? I just died.
Wow, who knew I'd end up saying something like that. We continued on to be like this for who knows how long. We didn't say anything the whole time. Instead, we kept quiet and savoured this moment. I was glad to be in his arms again, really. For a while when I first died, I thought that I'd never get to do this ever again. But I was proved wrong. I took in every moment and speck of this moment. The touch, the feel, the mood, and...even the smell (As odd as that may sound).
Eventually, after what seemed like a millenium, we pulled apart. I shot him a genuine smile, which he gladly shot back in return. We stared at one another, taking in each other before he decided to ask, "How are you alive?"
"I was halfway through death." I tell him as I walked around him, placing my hands on the railings to the ledge of the tower. I looked out at the scenery, watching the bird fly west.
"Meaning?" I still didn't turn around.
"Meaning I was in the In-Between. A place between life and death. It's for the people who hasn't accepted death fully and still prefers to linger on out to the living. I almost accepted death, but my mother convinced me otherwise. She, and Albus Dumbledore told me that I had an option. To accept my death and pass on, or to return to the living."
"You met you're mother? And the bloke I was named after? And why did- Wait, what? I'm confused." He said. I turned around and look at his confused face. Then I explained to him about what went on while I was 'partially' dead. I told him about meeting Albus Dumbledore, which he found somewhat fascinating, and then told him the twist of meeting my mother. After that, I explained to him on why I was allowed the option to live of not. He found it confusing at first, but eventually put two and two together and understood.
"...And after my mother told me why, I had the option of joining those who passed on to live in happiness with my mother, or I could return back to living my life." I continued on. I looked down at the ground before saying, "You know...I was really, really tempted on passing on." I said, slightly in shame.
"What?" I built up the guts and looked up at Al who had a surprised look on his face. "Why?"
I bit my lip and gave out a nervous chuckle before saying, "I know right? Surprising. I wanted to come back here, but I was just scared. Some Gryffindor I am, huh? It's just that, passing on, meant that I didn't need to worry about dealing with possible situations that could make me sad and unhappy. Or something that could make me a disappointment." I paused after that, choosing my words wisely. "But I decided to bring out that bravery every Gryffindor has and decided to choose on living on. I realized that having you and everyone else around here would brush that fear aside. Plus, I can die again one day when the time is right. Plus, giving up you lot for being scared isn't worth it...Rubbish reason for wanting to choose pure death, eh?"
I looked back up at Al, who had plastered a smile on his face. "I'm still glad you did choose us. And no...S'not stupid that you wanted to choose death. Life's crazy and we have our ups and downs. But hey, that's life. If you don't have enough downs, then you ain't livin' life." I smiled.
Ladies and gentleman, words of wisdom by Albus Potter.
After a moment of not saying anything, I asked, "So what made you so convinced that it wasn't me." I asked.
"Aside from the fact that I thought you're suppose to be dead? You're eyes..." He trailed. "They're...different." I turned around and found him facing my direction, looking straight into my eyes.
Unfortunately for me, I hadn't had the opportunity to take a look at my eyes. "What color are they?" I asked curiously. I really never knew what was my true eye color. I was born with my real eye color, though the purple ones had set in a few minutes later after I had been born.
"Green." He replied as he neared me, "A brilliant pair of bright green eyes. Though your violet ones were mesmerizing, your green ones strike me just as well."
I smiled. "My mum's got green eyes." I said, recalling the memory.
"How do you have..." He trailed off into thought.
"It's what happens when you're cured." I explained, leaning against the pillar that was attached to the ledge's railings. He smiled at this. "My mum said that once I return back to the living, I'd return back to my original self. I wasn't born with a pair of violet eyes. They turned violet an hour after I was born. But now without them, I guess I blend in with the crowd now."
"Well I like them." He smiled as he stroked my cheek, looking immensely in my eyes. "We match."
I broke out into a grin. "Did you know that my mother adores you?" I blurted out. "Says that she likes you better than all the other blokes I fancied in my whole lifetime."
He smirked, "I like how she thinks, but then again who wouldn't love me? I am devilishly handsome."
I rolled my eyes, smacking his chest playfully. "Whatever floats your boat, Potter."
"I like your mother, considering the fact I haven't met her before." He said, "She seems lovely."
"She is. It's like I was talking to someone who understood me. But I knew she did, having that she always watched me and learned how I thought." I said. "You know what she said before I left?"
"No, what?"
"As cheesy as this may sound, she told me to follow and listen to my heart." I said.
He leaned a bit closer, his hand resting on the wall of the pillar behind me. "And what is your heart telling you, Miss Heart?"
I looked at him, with a mischievous look in my eyes and leaned in a bit closer. "To finish what I was gonna say before I died." I said, locking my around his neck.
"Which was..."
"Me trying to say, that I love you too." He smirked.
And this is how I ended up giving Al a reuniting kiss -which he enthusiastically returned- that's probably gonna last up until we were down to the last breath.
Yup, I was the one who kissed Al. I made the first move.
I think I pretty much reclaimed my Gryffindor status.
Our kiss lasted for who knows how long, in a setting that was completely and utterly perfect. It was cliche (I say that a lot, don't I?) but then again, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Though our little moment blew most of my thoughts away, I couldn't help but recall everything that happened since the start of this year. It was dramatic and there was a lot of crying, sure. But by far, this school year had to be the best.
It was the most interesting and also the most important one.
I almost felt like Harry Potter for a moment. But this chapter in my life in gonna close soon. It's the chapter of where I had dealt with Hexheartonia, whilst dealing with my feelings for my best mate.
This was the year to how I realized my true feelings for Al. It was also the year I had died and had came back to life.
Al and I eventually pulled apart before we died of lacking air in our bodies. We both stood there for a bit, not saying a word. But the comfortable silence didn't last long before he decided to break it. "Elizabeth Hart, would you do the honor of being my girlfriend?" He asked.
"Yes," I replied, grinning like an idiot. "Yes I would." And once again we shared another, but short, kiss.
And just like that, that's how I ended up with my best mate. It was complicated what he and I went through, but nonetheless, we finally made it to the end of this chapter. Our kiss had sealed the last few words to this long chapter in my life, making the pages in my life story turn to a new blank sheet.
Sure, that'll be scary, having to go through my future; the unknown. It was something that I could finally live through without having to worry about dying prematurely.
But hey, I've got my family, my friends, and my best mate...Who also happens to be my boyfriend.
Huh.
Last summer if you told me that Al and I would end up together, I would've told you that was hippogriff's shit.
Charming, I know. Who knew I'd end with my best mate, eh?
So you possibly might be wondering. What was this closed chapter titled?
How to Get With Albus Potter.
Who knew, right?