The Stag and the Doe

Chapter Forty- Their Choices that Defined Them

Disclaimer: None of these characters are of my own design, and all rights belong to J.K Rowling

Chapter Forty: Their Choices that Defined Them

Alice woke with tremors wracking her body.

This was odd for two reasons. The first being that she was completely encased in a duvet burrito on a day that was too hot for its own good. In fact, it was so stifling that Alice sighed in relief at the feel of the sweat on the back of her neck, trickle down towards her back, tracing her spine. The second reason was that she had remembered her dream pretty vividly, and it certainly wasn't a scary one. It was quite the opposite really. In it, she and Frank had held hands skipping through a field of flowers while licking acid pops.

So, no, she shouldn't be shivering right now.

Twisting around her bed, she fought the covers. Once free, she sighed and sat up, still quaking. Alice ran a finger through her cropped hair and let out a grossed noise at the slightly wet strands. Shaking off the feeling, she turned so her feet reached the ground, yawned and glanced at the others sleeping. A tuft of white-blonde hair was all that was visible from Marlene's bed as the blue-eyed girl was notorious for stealing any and all blankets and burrowing under them the garden gnomes at Alice's place did. In fact, one night during the winter of their fourth year, Marlene had unconsciously taken every one's blanket off their bed, made a nest on the floor, and fell asleep. Alice and the other girls woke up freezing that morning. Turning her attention to Mary, she smiled softly as the girl left out snores not unlike her Frank's. They were softer though, much more quieted, and only really noticeable when she snorted. Looking over Dorcas' bed, Alice had to stifle her amusement. Meadows was known for sleeping in the most odd positions known to wizard kind. This morning was no exception as the girl was nearly hanging off her bed, her legs entangled with the scarlet curtains. With a somewhat of a heavy pang, Alice glanced at Lily's empty bed. Well, empty because it wasn't Lily's, Lily was in the Head Dormitory, as she had been for the past year. Which Alice should be used to by now, but how was she supposed to do that if your best friend was someone you've shared a room for seven years?

Yawning, Alice's watery eyes trailed to the calendar. Her back snapped straight at once, her eyes now alert, and her senses thrumming with the shudders aftershocks.

Oh, that's why she was shivering. It wasn't out of fear; it was out of excitement, joy, and maybe a little sadness. Okay, Alice thought a little bit glumly, a lot more sadness than earlier admitted. Today was the day the class of 1978 would graduate Hogwarts. Alice would miss these girls, their teachers, the ghosts, the kind gamekeeper, and especially Lily and Frank, especially them. Alice could hardly imagine just how she was supposed to say goodbye after all these years. But, these years had been full of hard work just as much as it was filled with laughter. They worked hard to where they were. School was hardly easy no matter how magical it may be. It had been a long seven years. It was filled with strife and delight. They're hard work was finally being paid off and recognized. And that, Alice thought, was something they not only earned but also deserved. After years of studying, late nights, and much stress, they were finally leaving Hogwarts. Their hard work would finally be paid off, and they'd be free.

While there was the bitter sting of sadness that lied on her tongue, Alice knew that this day would be one of the best days of her life. She got up at once, determined to make sure of this.

***

Marlene McKinnon was shoving her foot into a size smaller than her actual size heels, when it finally hit her.

This would be the last day she would ever be at Hogwarts, and that thought alone was weird. It would be hard not to go to Hogwarts every September, after all she had had spent a lot of her life here, and so did everyone else. As everyone before and with her, she had grown up in this dusty old castle, made relationships truly defined by their impact. Her friends, her professors, and Sirius...they had each taken their own piece of Hogwarts and will carry it with them for the rest of their lives. The knowledge they received would hopefully prove their selves useful (though Marlene did wonder just how exactly did memorizing the properties of worm shit and then writing a ten page report on it would be useful but she digressed). Still, leaving this place would be one of the hardest things Marlene would ever have to do. Even You-Know-Who had loved this place -if the b*stard could possibly have any other emotions than die-muggle-dIE- to some degree. That had to be a testament to just how truly special Hogwarts was. What with its unbound less amount of secrets and tricks around every corner, life here was hardly boring. Except, Marlene thought a bit bitterly, in Professor Binns classroom, that man could hardly keep himself awake let alone the class. She reckoned he could sleep through anything, possibly even a fire.