Chapter 11 – A Last Goodbye

Christmas break ended on January first. Remus, Miranda, and Peter came back, and Mae was forced to tell them of her father's letter.

She was most scared to tell Remus, and started crying in front of him when she did. But he immediately hugged her, attempting to comfort her.

"I don't want to leave, Remus," she said, hanging onto him as tight as physically possible.

"Don't you want to go home?"

"Yes, but I don't want to miss all of you."

"Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do."

"I know, but why can't you come with me? I love all of you so much."

"Look at me," said Remus, pulling up her face to look into her eyes. "We all love you too. And it's not like we're going to let you go without hugging you senseless."

That made her laugh. And then he kissed her.

Mae pulled away moments later, searching his eyes for an answer. "What was that for?" she asked quietly.

"I don't think I'm going to let you go with kissing you senseless either."

"And how long has it taken you to decide that?"

"Far too long."

"Well, it's taken me an awfully long time as well."

"For what?"

"For me to realize just how much I'll miss you."

"You know I'll miss you too, Mae."

She smiled. "Good. It's always nicer when the two people both miss each other instead of only one missing the other."

He laughed. "Aren't you a silly one."

"Hold me again, Remus," she whispered, allowing him to pull her into his arms and hug her tightly. "Don't ever let me go… no matter how far away I am."

"I didn't plan on it."

Looking at them all, Mae began to cry again. "Oh, I'm going to miss all of you so much!" she said, hugging Lily for the third time.

Lily smiled in her own tears. "Goodbye, Mae. You're one of my best friends. I'll never forget you."

"Write to me."

"I will. I promise."

She hugged Miranda next. "I didn't really get to know you that well, but I'll miss you too."

"We can be pen pals. I'll write as much as I can."

Mae nodded before wiping her eyes and turning to Peter. "Peter, Peter, Peter, Peter."

"Yes?" he asked nervously.

"You really need a girlfriend."

He laughed slightly, and they hugged briefly.

"I guess this is goodbye," said James when she faced him.

"It doesn't have to be forever. Just do me a favor. Don't ever let Lily go."

He nodded determinedly, tightening his grip on Lily's hand. "Never."

She embraced him quickly. "Never be afraid to be yourself, James. That's just the way I like you," she said quietly in his ear.

When she stood before Sirius, he stood there awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"I don't know what you were thinking either, but I don't need you to apologize to forgive you. I do wish you had found another way to show that you care, though."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"Sorry."

She smiled slightly. "Don't forget me."

"How could I?"

Lastly, she approached Remus and flung her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as possible. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. "I'll never be able to forget you. I'll never want to. It'll be so strange without you."

"I don't want you to go."

"I have to." She pulled away and smiled slightly. "But I don't have to have my senses when I go," she murmured, quirking an eyebrow expectantly.

All the others were at least partially surprised when they kissed, and James whistled. Blushing, they pulled apart, and Remus escorted her to the carriage that was to carry her away.

Mae gave his hand one last squeeze before he closed the door. "Goodbye!" she yelled after them as she was driven away.

The ride in the carriage and on the Hogwarts Express was boring. There was no one to talk to, and she had plenty of time to think about what she was leaving behind. At Platform 9 and ¾, her father met her, and they embraced happily.

"Hey, Daddy," she said. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too. Want to go home?"

"Yes. Definitely."

Two days later, on the boat from Great Britain to Japan, Mae received a letter in an extremely familiar script. Excitedly, she tore it open and read it.

Dearest Mae,

I'm not letting you go without at least writing a letter a day. The others will write to you as well, though probably not as frequently as myself.

James and Lily are now officially dating. All thanks to you, really.

Sirius broke up with Miranda this morning. His explanation was that he couldn't go out with her after he kissed someone else. He didn't say who, but I'm guessing that he did kiss you when trying to convince you to go out with him. Miranda was heartbroken, even though she knew it wouldn't last.

Peter just got a girlfriend. She's a Hufflepuff named Alicia Fenwick. Her brother is Benjy. She's really nice, but I don't really think they'll last that long. But you never know. He's doing practically everything he can to make her happy.

Lily and Miranda promise to visit you whenever they can. Probably this summer. We'll all try to visit you then.

Love, Remus

Mae sighed in contentment. A letter a day? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. She could live like this. Especially if they all visited her.

She glanced over at her father. He was watching the ocean around them.

She did need to be with her mother now. She was still a teenager. She still needed help. But she didn't need to cry over it all. She had Remus now. And she had Sirius and Lily and James and Miranda and Peter. Even if she didn't seem them all the time, they were still with her.

With a smile, she took out a quill and a piece of parchment and began to write her reply.

Well, and that's the end, folks (not that there are many of you out there). There's another story after this, Watching Memories Depart, and then another after that, Closer Than We Think We Are, but the third and last is not written yet, so it'll be a while before you can expect that.