An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Eighty-One

I woke up with the sun on Sunday morning, to the sound of birds literally singing outside my window. By some miracle, I actually felt well rested, although I couldn't actually remember how long it'd been before I finally fell asleep last night. I could smell coffee, and when I rolled over, I found Angelina brewing me a cup on the coffee maker I'd dragged to Hogwarts in my first year here while Alicia tended to two steaming cups off to the side, which I assumed were tea for the both of them. It was a beautiful morning, and a perfect start to my last full day at Hogwarts.

And yet, I still had a weird feeling in my chest. Beyond just nostalgia, or missing this part of my life before it was all the way over, the same thoughts I'd fallen asleep to were running around in my head from the moment I woke up.

I didn't have long to dwell on any of it, for better or worse, as Angelina turned around at last. She grinned when she saw me already awake.

"Thank goodness. 'licia and I were worried we'd have to drag you out of a twenty-four hour coma again for graduation."

I huffed. "Luckily for all three of us, I got enough rest sleeping all day Friday to get more or less back to normal."

"Well cheers to that," Alicia chimed in, bringing hers and Angelina's tea mugs over as Angelina handed me my coffee. The three of us raised our cups in toast before taking a first sip, then settled into sitting on our beds for a few minutes. It was peaceful, which certainly wouldn't be the case tomorrow as we were busy trying to move out and get to the Hogwarts Express on time.

We got to watch the non-7th years out the window as they steadily moved towards the gates and the train they were all supposed to be catching today. Down by the lake, chairs and a stage were being set up for graduation ceremonies, with some tables a little further away for post-graduation festivities. Emily and Amelia joined us for a little while before moving on to their own morning rituals, but mostly, the three of us just sat together as we drank our tea and coffee, watching the flurry of activity outside our window. Finally, when we'd all drained our mugs and I at least felt considerably more awake, Alicia took a deep breath.

"Well, we should probably start getting ready for graduation then, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah," agreed Angelina. "I suppose so. We wouldn't want to be late."

Still, neither of us moved right away. I sighed, too, and set my mug down on my nightstand, then took Angelina and Alicia's hands in mine. The three of us shared a look and a few matching little smiles, then I squeezed both of their hands. They squeezed back, and we stood, moving to our own trunks to pull out our outfits for graduation.

"I wish we would've had time to put together something fun for this," Alicia mused as she rummaged through her trunk. "Like a dance from High School Musical."

I groaned. "Dammit, that would've been fantastic! Fucking Umbridge and Voldemort and N.E.W.T.s."

Angelina and Alicia grumbled their agreement.

"Guess we'll just have to do it when you graduate uni, Alexa," said Angelina. I laughed.

"That sounds like a perfect plan to me."

"I had an idea," Alicia continued, drawing Angelina and I's attention. "Since we're all leaving for the summer but not coming back to Hogwarts in the fall, I think we should plan trips to visit each other this summer, wherever we all go."

"That's a great idea!" Angelina cried. "Lex and I can come back up here to visit you once you start your medical program, you two can come visit me wherever I end up once I hear back from a few of the Quidditch teams I'm set to try out with, and you and I can go visit Alexa in Boston!"