Yellow (George Weasley)

44 - Last Ride

I plopped down on my bare mattress, the sheets stripped and neatly folded to make clean up a bit easier on the house elves. Alicia groaned as she sat on the top of Angelina's trunk, bouncing to try to make it go down. The girls had been making desperate attempts to close it for the last half hour.

Click.

"Finally!" The two girls cheered before we all erupted in laughter. Angelina had a habit of shopping each Hogsmeade weekend and always ended up with more clothes than she came here with. Now that that was done, a silence came over the room. The three of us unsure of what to do next. The day we had avoided thinking about for the last few months had finally come. The last time we would sit in our dorm room together.

Without a word, I stood and opened my arms. The two girls instantly crossed the room, the three of us clutching each other tight and not wanting to let go any time soon.

"Dear Penthouse..." Lee had a hint of humor in his voice as he stood in the doorway of our dorm.

Alicia and I rolled our eyes while Angelina looked confused. She hadn't understood the reference to the Muggle magazine and in this moment I envy her pureblood status. "Oh come off it." I lightly shoved his shoulder as we gathered our trunks. He laughed loudly and Angelina continued to insist someone explain the joke to her...though no one did.

We followed our friend down the stairs and into the nearly empty common room. Most students had already made it to the train station but a few still lingered, saying their goodbyes to their friends. We walked from the room, being sure to say farewell to the Fat Lady. She had tears coming down as she used a handkerchief to dab them away. She tends to get emotional at the end of every year.

The four of us strolled through the stone halls, taking our sweet time. None of us truly wanted to leave. Who knows when we would be back.

"I'll catch up with you by the carriages okay?" I smiled. The three nodded before continuing down the hall, chatting lightly.

I dipped down the familiar stairwell and was thankful to see the light beneath the door. The sound of a bubbling cauldron accompanied the smell of Daisyroot essence. "Professor Snape?"

He looked surprised to see anyone down in his office but quickly regained his impassiveness. "Miss Hadleigh. Have you forgotten something?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye...and thank you." I handed him a case of empty vials when I noticed he had completed the potion he was working on. He cocked a brow at my words. "You know. For helping me with my studies. And I'm assuming it was you who told the Order where we would be—so, thank you."

He nodded but didn't speak another word of his help. "I take you have rejected a position at the school for the following year?"

"Yes—though I hope one day the school will be a place I want to come back to." Though Dumbledore had been reinstated and Umbridge no longer controlled the school, I had decided Hogwarts wouldn't be a place I wanted to work until the threat of Voldemort was completely eliminated. It was a tough decision and led to a lot of panic with a sudden change in my future, but George had reassured me many times through all of the letters he's sent me.

"I also hope that you will return as well. You've proven yourself to be worthy of even my own job...despite your questionable choice in partner." He added that last part in an attempt to diminish his kind words, but the bright smile on my face let him know the sentiment was received.

"Thank you, Professor." I pulled my bag up on my shoulder. "You know you're not as bad of a guy as you make yourself out to be."

He rolled his eyes though I caught the twitch of a smile on his lips. "I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye, Miss Hadleigh. I wish you well."