An Art of Balance

Epilogue: Of Endings and Beginnings

It had been almost two weeks since Hufflepuff had been able to claim the Quidditch Cup for their own.

The fact that Lizzie and Orion had finally managed to sort things out and become an official thing had spread like wildfire. They hadn't only been the talk of the Hufflepuff Common Room for the next few days; to her utter mortification, Lizzie had heard her name whispered by countless of her peers. Every time she had been greeted by smug grins and comments along the lines of "Thank Godric, finally!" she would have very much liked to sink into the ground.

Orion, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to mind the attention too much.

"Sometimes eyes uninvolved see more clearly than those that are clouded by emotions," he had shrugged it off when Lizzie had voiced her annoyance at being the centre of attention yet again.

Still, both of them had been glad when the teasing had eventually started to die down a few days later.

The one pestering her the longest had probably been Skye; she hadn't let one single chance escape her to tease her. If she hadn't made fun of Lizzie, she had jokingly threatened her with serious repercussions, should they fail to defend their title next season because her fellow Chasers couldn't concentrate on what actually mattered.

She had only stopped when Lizzie had made a throwaway comment on her way to the Ravenclaw Tower to meet up with KC for studying, inviting Skye to come along.

"What business do I have with the Ravenclaws?"

Lizzie had blinked at her innocently. "Oh, I don't know; I thought you were rather friendly with one or the other now."

Skye had scowled at her. "What makes you think that?"

Secretly enjoying the way the colour had drained out of Skye's face, Lizzie had grinned smugly. "Just a feeling; a proper reason beats me, I guess."

After that, she had enjoyed her peace and quiet while Skye had tried to hide her furiously blushing face.

But both the gossip as well as the excitement about the Quidditch Cup had slowly but surely made way for the omnipresent flare of nerves about the impending finals.

The first round of exams was only two days away by now and the Hufflepuff Common Room was packed to the brim. Although every table and open space was occupied, it was enveloped in concentrated silence; the only noises discernible were the scratching of feathers on parchment, the rustling of pages being turned and the occasional sigh of frustration. Everyone was brooding over their notes; especially the fifth- and seven-years were groaning under the strain of their final preparations for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

Lizzie and her friends had been gathered in their favourite spot in front of the central fireplace for hours now, an assortment of books and scrolls scattered in a circle around them. They were all working in silence; not even Tonks and Skye had the headspace to complain about the workload anymore.

Lizzie was currently in the process of comparing her and Rowan's Arithmancy calculations, trying to discern why they had come to different conclusions. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she listened to Rowan's whispered explanations. She couldn't help but notice how glad she was to have her favourite study partner back again.

Rowan had taken the news of her and Orion surprisingly well; even though she had given them their blessing, Lizzie had been apprehensive of her reaction. But to her relief, Rowan had been nothing but supportive ever since. She still was a little more reserved than what Lizzie was used to, but she had a feeling that they were on a good way to restore their friendship.

Ignoring her wandering thoughts, Lizzie tried to concentrate on her number chart again; however much she tried, though, the tiny numbers were blurring in front of her eyes and Lizzie felt her attention slipping again. With a sigh, she closed her textbook and rubbed her eyes. It was no use, she couldn't get another ounce of knowledge into her tired brain.

Standing up, she stretched her back for a moment. Over on the far side of the Common Room, she spotted Murphy and Orion, a board of chess sitting between them.

Murphy looked up and smiled at her as Lizzie hugged her boyfriend – the thought still made her mind reel – from behind, resting her chin on top of his head.

He didn't raise his eyes from the board but she could hear the smile in his voice as he put a hand on her arms that were lying draped around his shoulders.

"Shouldn't you be studying?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "If you ask me, I think I have studied enough for the rest of my life, but at the very least for today."

Orion reached for his knight and moved it forward, but judging by Murphy's confident grin, her presence had distracted him into making a disadvantageous move. He sighed as Murphy moved his queen into a new position and smugly declared checkmate.

Leaning back against her, he dipped his head into his neck to be able to look at her. "Your refusal to prepare for your exams just cost me that match, Chaser."

"Sorry about that," she laughed, stepping around his armchair and gently kissing him; it still felt strange for her to be able to do that. But when she felt him smile against her lips, the thought vanished as quickly as it had come.

"And besides," she grinned and nudged him playfully as she reached for one of his chess pieces, "as someone very dear to me regularly likes to point out: It's all about the balance."

THE END