Epilogue

Sirius felt his whole body go numb. He'd never felt this scared in his entire life as he and Remus ran out of the entrance hall and through the Hogwarts grounds, following where Jenna's name on the map was, without moving.

But they both came to a sudden halt when they reached the Black Lake. The sun had just risen, turning the sky in into a beautiful shade of pink. The sunlight beamed across the endless water, casting what looked like glimmering pearls on the surface.

     There, they saw Jenna sitting down on the grass, staring at the water in silence with her back facing them.

"She's... she's fine..." Sirius muttered in a hollow voice, staring at her as the sense of relief washed over him.

At the sound of his voice, Jenna turned her head to glance behind her shoulder, seeing Remus and Sirius standing there frozen on the spot, as though they had both become paralyzed.

"Hi." She smiled at them, but to her surprise, neither of them returned it.

"Jenna, what were you thinking coming here without even telling anybody! We searched the whole damn castle for you!" Sirius said sharply. "We've been so worried!"

"Oh... sorry," Jenna murmured. "I came to sit here to get away from the crowd for some while. I... I needed some alone time to think."

Sirius sighed and walked forward, raising his hand for Jenna to take and so helped her up to her feet. He then placed a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear, looking into her eyes lovingly.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said softly. "How's the baby? You don't have any pains or anything, do you?"

"No. Everything's fine." Jenna shook her head earnestly. "How did you find me?"

"The Marauder's Map," Remus replied, catching her by surprise.

"But my name doesn't show up on it," she said.

"That's what I thought, too." Sirius nodded. "But Remus said that because you're pregnant, your spell would be broken. Technically, the dot we saw was the baby, but because the baby's not born yet, it shows up with your name on it."

"Oh..." Jenna muttered, looking back at the lake. But before either Sirius or Remus could say anything, she blurted out, "I killed Avery... with the killing curse. Travers is dead too."

"This is good news. Then what's the matter?" Remus asked as he walked closer to the edge of the Black Lake where the other two stood. He could see the troubled look on her face.

Jenna hesitated for a few seconds, as though considering in her head whether she should tell them or not.

At last, she decided to speak. "Do you remember the story of 'The Three Brothers' from when we were children?"

     Remus and Sirius were both surprised to hear that question, seeing as this was probably the last thing they had expected Jenna to speak about. But they both nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, the story was about three wizards who had faced Death," Jenna went on. "They were gifted with the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility."

"Okay...?" Sirius raised a curious brow at her.

Jenna sighed, turning to glance at him again with an unreadable expression upon her complexion that Sirius had never seen before. When she spoke again, the two of them became even more confused.

     "What if I told you the story was real?" she said.

"What?" Remus blinked at her, and then shook his head lightly. "Jenna, that's just a tale for children. Death isn't actually a hooded figure that will appear on your way of crossing a river."

"I'm not talking about that part of the story," she said. "I'm talking about the existence of the Deathly Hallows."

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other before turning to look over at Jenna again.

"There's no proof that they exist in real life," said Sirius.

"Actually, there is proof," Jenna protested. "The three hallows belonged to the Peverell brothers; this is something I found out recently. James and I... we are one of their decedents. The Invisibility Cloak that had been passed down to Harry from generations before us, isn't an ordinary cloak. It's the Cloak of Invisibility. And about the Elder Wand... it belonged to Dumbledore."

"Okay, I won't deny that some wands could be more powerful than the others. But what about the Resurrection Stone, then? I just don't think that it's possible to summon the dead that easily," said Sirius.

"Well... maybe this will change your mind..." Jenna said in a low whisper, and then, to their astonishment, she dug into her pocket, taking out a small black stone.

"That's — that's impossible..." Remus said in disbelief, his eyes glued on the stone in Jenna's hand. "How did you —"

"Dumbledore had it in his possession before he died," Jenna explained, looking at the stone that laid in her palm. "He then gave it to Harry, hiding it inside a Golden Snitch that opened when he had gone to the Forbidden Forest."

"Harry gave this to you?" Sirius questioned, catching her each and every word with no less disbelief than surprise.

Jenna nodded, the disturbance of her mind visible in her every feature. "Before leaving the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione, Harry came to me and explained everything about the Hallows. He said that when he had gone to the Forbidden Forest, he had used this stone, and... he saw Lily and James."

Jenna saw the look of hurt flash through Sirius's eyes at the mention of his old best friend's name. The air around him was grey and steady, as though he couldn't allow himself to get false hope.

"Harry told me that at first he wanted to throw it in the forest, but he thought against it. Instead, he put it back in his pocket," Jenna went on. "He said he thought I would want to... see them one last time."

Sirius and Remus remained in silence, watching Jenna warily as she had her eyes fixed on the stone, a million thoughts running through her mind.

     "You should," Remus finally broke the silence. "I mean, you never got to say goodbye... none of us did."

      Jenna glanced at Sirius for approval and to see what he thought, but all she saw was the way he was frowning at the ground, avoiding her eyes.

Maybe he was thinking the same as her. Jenna had spent twenty years trying to find peace. She'd spent nearly two decades trying to forget them. Trying to feel up the void inside her. So she wasn't sure if she could do it all over again.

But perhaps Remus was right. Maybe the reason she hadn't been able to find the peace in her heart was that she'd never really been able to move on without saying goodbye.

Jenna turned back to face the lake once again with the black stone resting in her palm. She watched as the sun met the shimmering lake in the horizon, the golden light dribbling over the mountaintops in the distance.

So, taking in a deep breath, Jenna closed her eyes and turned the stone three times in her hand, and she waited as the silence drowned them within itself.

     She suddenly felt a strange breeze tousling her hair ever so gently, caressing her soul. But then, as soon as the breeze had gone by, the silence was broken as someone spoke.

      "Hello, J.P."

      Jenna felt the air leave her lungs as she heard the familiar voice. The voice she hadn't heard for almost seventeen years. She feared opening her eyes, scared to realize that it was just an illusion. Scared of it being a mere dream.

She'd had this dream many times before. Her dreams took her back to the meadows she used to run through with her brother. It took her back to the days full of laughter, smiles, and happiness. Each time, she would wake up from the dream and find herself in the dark.

But not this time. Now, it had become her reality.

     Slowly, Jenna opened her eyelids, her heartbeat speeding up as she looked up. She could see them all, standing around her; James, Lily, Euphemia, Fleamont, and even Marlene.

     They were neither ghost nor truly flesh, as though they'd come to life through a memory or a dream.

"My brave little girl... You've grown up so much," Euphemia spoke, and Jenna could feel the tears forming in her eyes as she watched her without moving. They looked younger than Jenna remembered them when she'd seen them the last time.

"Mum..." Jenna said in a sob. She ran forward to hug her, but her arms passed through.

She suddenly felt a vast emptiness in her heart. She had never longed to hold her mother this much. Jenna missed the times she would sit on her lap as a kid while her mother brushed her long hair that kept changing color. She missed her so much.

Seeing the look of misery in her daughter's face, Euphemia raised her hand and gently placed it on Jenna's cheek where her tears kept falling. But even though Jenna couldn't feel her touch on her skin, she still smiled.

"We're so proud of you... all of you," said Fleamont, the familiar smile that Jenna had missed so much appearing across his lip. She never thought she would see it again.

"I remember this place," it was Lily who had spoken.

     Once Jenna turned to look at her friend, she saw that Lily's kind green eyes were fixed on the lake, watching the way the sky had reflected upon it like a beautiful canvas.

  "We had made a promise to come back here, didn't we?" Lily said with a sad smile. "It was our little pact."

Jenna didn't trust herself to open her mouth, knowing that if she even tried to speak, she would cry even harder. So she only gave a small nod. Lily turned to face her again.

As though her friend's smile had calmed her heart, Jenna finally managed to form the words, whispering, "When we had suggested it, this was not how I had pictured it. All of you would've been here with me. Alice too."

Lily smiled again, her green eyes shimmering in kindness. "I'm still happy to see you, Jen. I'm happy that I'm talking to you again."

"Ugh, what's with all the crying? Get yourself together, woman!" Marlene exclaimed, rolling her eyes as Jenna laughed through her tears. "You too, Black!"

With a little smile, Jenna turned to look behind her shoulder. Remus's eyes were red, as though holding himself back with all his power; he'd always been able to contain his emotions better than anyone else. Sirius too was crying silently, the tears leaving his eyes. Jenna couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him cry this way.

"C'mon, don't cry, you three. It's not like we ever left," said Marlene with a playful grin. "I mean — not in a creepy way. We weren't like watching you all the time. Cause, you know..." she gave Jenna and Sirius a weird look. "From what I remember, you two do the deed way too much."

"Marlene!" Lily scolded, shaking her head at the girl.

"What!?" Marlene threw her hands up defensively. "I'm not lying! Look, there's the proof!" She pointed at Jenna's big baby bump. Sirius and Jenna couldn't help but to laugh.

"I guess congratulations are in order, for all three of you. Another generation of the Mauarders to carry on the legacy," said James, catching their attention again. He was smiling too, his lopsided glasses on his face and his jet-black hair as messy as Jenna remembered it.

Jenna sniffed, holding on to her smile as she kept her eyes on her brother, her hand resting on her baby bump. "You would've made an incredible uncle, J.P."

"Hmm... Uncle Prongs," said James, nodding in approval. "I like the sound of that. It has a nice ring to it. What do you think, Padfoot?"

"I... think..." Sirius breathed out, trying to blink away the tears. But he was unable to answer him. "I never thought I would see you again."

"And yet here I am, as handsome as ever." James smirked. "It's a shame you three got so old, though."

They all laughed as Sirius scowled at first, but then he joined the laughter as well.

"How's Teddy doing?" Lily asked Remus.

"He's doing great." Remus nodded happily. "He's staying with his grandmother at the moment. He's probably asleep."

"Why did you name him Teddy, though?" James asked. "Elvendork would've been cooler."

"That's what I've been saying! Thank you!" Sirius threw up his hands. "I'm trying to convince Jenna. So there's still hope to get an Elvendork in the family."

"For the last time! We're not naming our baby Elvendork!" Jenna retorted.

"You might wanna reconsider, J.P," said James, winking at her. "It's unisex."

"Oh, for Godric's sake." Euphemia sighed and shook her head in disappointment.

At that, Jenna turned to face her parents again, the sadness visible in her eyes. "The house was never the same since you left."

      "Of course." Fleamont shrugged, his lips twitching upward into a smug grin. "That's because I wasn't there to joke around anymore."

     Jenna chuckled. "True."

     She didn't want this moment to end. She wanted to hold on to every voice, every face, and each familiar smile. She wished she could bottle up this memory and live through it forever. But she knew it wasn't her reality.

     She couldn't live an illusion all her life, because she would go mad just like in the story of The Three Brothers. Her reality was Sirius, Remus, Harry, and the baby she had on the way. And she was glad to have them all in her life.

     At least, now she knew that those she had loved never really left her. They lived in her heart all along. But it was time to let go. It was time to find the peace she'd been searching for all her life. It was time for one last goodbye.

     Jenna had promised Harry that she would get rid of the stone after she had seen them all one last time, and she was going to live up to that promise, so it wouldn't fall in the wrong hands.

     Jenna glanced around at their smiley faces. By the look in their eyes she could tell that they knew that they had to say goodbye, but none of them spoke.

     She then looked down at the black stone in her hand. There was a temptation in her to keep the stone for her own, but she knew that she couldn't dwell on dreams and forget to live. She belonged here.

     Sirius walked to her, placing a hand on her lower back. When Jenna looked up at him, one teary face meeting the other, he gave her a small encouraging nod. She understood what he meant.

     Jenna took a deep breath, walking closer toward the edge of the black lake with Sirius by her side. Glancing behind her shoulder, she saw that the others had walked closer as well, standing behind her.

      "Thank you, Jen," said Marlene, looking at her solemnly.

Jenna knew she was talking about Travers, and so she nodded at her with a smile. She was glad to have avenged Marlene and her parents, and little Marvin too.

     "I love you so much. All of you," Jenna said through a sob, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

     She looked at them one last time, taking a glimpse of her mother's beautiful face, her father's familiar smile, Lily's kind green eyes, the mischievous look that remained with Marlene even after all these years, and at last, she looked at her brother.

     "Goodbye, J.P," James whispered, smiling at her.

      Jenna wanted to say it back, but the words died at her lips. Her throat was burning too much for her to speak again. She felt the tears resurface, but she blinked them away quickly and finally manage to take her gaze away from them to look back at the lake before her. She glanced down at the black stone in her palm before closing her fist.

     "Goodbye..." Jenna whispered with her eyes closed. She then raised her arm and aimed far, throwing the stone into the water.

     As she watched it sink in and disappear bellow the surface, she felt an ache in her heart. She closed her eyes, knowing that they had disappeared behind her. But despite that, deep down she could feel their presence in her heart, now more than ever.

      Sirius walked up to her and gently wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. Remus was standing beside them as well with his hands in the pockets of his shabby coat, as they all gazed at the shimmering lake.

      The world is a strange place. People talk about fate when they are most desperate, they blame destiny when they've made all the wrong choices, and when everything gets out of hand they say 'everything will be all right, because the universe is watching on us' as if the universe has nothing better to do.

     But as Jenna stood there at the edge of the lake and let her soul roam the world freely, she realized that none of that mattered.

Fate, destiny... they're all lies told by fools. The true miracle of the world lies beneath our grasp. And that miracle is life. It is life that pulls us, draws us in. It's the passion for living that helps us keep going. It's hope.

      As another breeze passed by, Jenna closed her eyes once again and took a deep breath, feeling as though her soul was a part of the universe. She could still feel her family's presence around her, as though they had never left.

     And so Jenna smiled as she remained in Sirius's arms, wishing for all her memories to be borne back to her by the light breeze of that beautiful spring day.

~ The End ~