An American Fangirl at Hogwarts 《2》of the ☆Ink and Pixels series☆

Epilogue

The ride back to Hogwarts was a long journey. Anyone who had been involved in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries couldn't keep everything contained perfectly long. Many of them suffered injuries at the Death Eaters' hands and Madison was sporting several scars and bruises. Something she would have to explain to Fred no doubt. And she wouldn't be surprised if Mrs. Weasley fussed over them, as well.

Perhaps what made the journey last that much longer was the deep cloud of sadness that loomed. Sirius was gone. Bellatrix had escaped. Voldemort was officially at large. Harry's face was plastered on just about every copy of the newspaper.

Another fear kept Madison's stomach churning. Her parents. They hadn't sent any letters or even suggested they would be at the platform. Not a single thing that told her she had a place to stay. But as a wise man once said, she would just have to wing it.

After the train finally pulled into King's Cross station, Madison immediately spotted Fred in the crowd. Of course, it was nearly impossible not to. When she approached Fred, she couldn't help, but to notice on his scaly suit jacket. But before she could ask any questions, Fred pulled her into one of the tightest hugs she had ever experienced. He kissed the top of her head before pulling back to give her a once over.

Before Fred could fuss, Mrs. Weasley pulled Madison into a hug.

"Good to see you, dear," she said happily before moving down the line.

"What are they supposed to be?" Ron asked, pointing to the twins jackets.

"Finest dragon skin, little bro," Fred answered proudly, "Business is booming and we thought we'd treat ourselves."

The members of the Order were also gathered on the train platform and as they went off to speak with the Dursleys, Madison found herself scanning the crowd. She looked at face after face. But she didn't find them. They really weren't going to show.

"They aren't coming, dear," Mrs. Weasley said quietly to Madison, pulling her aside.

"Kinda figured," Madison answered back quietly.

"But we have it all figured out. I promise," she said, giving her a small pat on the cheek.

When they came back to the group, Madison heard her name drift from the conversation.

"Oh yeah Fred, you have a real winner on your hands," Remus said, nodding in Madison's direction, "You should have seen her that night. She saved my life."

"That so?" Fred asked turning to Madison.

"Oh I just cast a simple spell," Madison said feeling a little flustered.

"A simple spell that saved me," Remus said. "Take a little credit."

"Do we have a future Auror in our midst?" Tonks asked, "it'd be nice to have some more estrogen around the office."

"Oh no," Madison said quickly, "I'm looking for a much quieter career path."

Tonks raised her brow. "Working in a joke shop is a quieter career path?"

"Well, I'm not working there forever," Madison said.

"No, but you are working there now," Fred said as he checked his watch, "speaking of which, we should be heading back. We should be having a bit of a rush."

George took one of Madison's bags and Fred took another. "We'll get you settled in before showing you the ropes," Fred said.

They bid their goodbyes before she went back to the joke shop with Fred and George. They carried her stuff upstairs into a little apartment.

"This is the living room... this is the kitchen... Here's the bathroom," Fred said as he pointed to each area respectively, "Here's mine and George's room and here's yours."

Madison peeked inside to see a bed and dresser already set up for her. The twins carried her stuff into her room and dropped them into the corner.

"I'm gonna head down and open back up," George said as he hopped down the stairs.

Everything seemed to be moving so quickly. She still felt a little shocked.

"How did you convince your mother to let me live here?" Madison asked.

"Uh mostly by explaining the benefits of having you close to the shop and ending with the very sincere promise to not do anything stupid. Which is why we have separate rooms," Fred said, "she also has the right to pop in at any time and we have to attend Sunday dinner. And you have to go have tea on Wednesdays."

"Sounds about right," Madison said before asking another question, "How did you know I didn't have anywhere to go?"

Fred gave her a soft smile before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a loose hug. "We all had our suspicions after we got you during the summer. And when your birthday and Christmas rolled around, it confirmed our suspicions. Then today at the platform, we were all sure."

"Sorry to burden you guys," Madison said quietly.

"Now, love you aren't a burden. You could never be a burden," Fred said. "But you only have to stay with us if you want to. I mean I know it's all moving fast, but just say the word and you can stay at the Burrow." Fred seemed hesitant and almost hurt at the idea of her leaving.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving," Madison said before quickly adding, "so long as it isn't a problem."

"It isn't."

"George is fine with it?"

"Completely."

"Then I'll stay."

"Well in that case," Fred said with a smile, "welcome home."

THE END.

A/N: Hey guys *waves* alright this is officially the end. Well the end of this book anyway. I will now quickly begin working on writing the first book and working on the next as the series journeys into the sixth year. Now thank you to everyone who has been reading this series and to anyone who has given feedback. You are all appreciated deeply. And as usual, feel free to comment or send me a message because feedback is appreciated and so are you! Love ya! 💛💙❤💚