It surprised Maria the amount that could change in two years. It seemed only yesterday her godson and his band of friends waltzed through the Great Hall, all smiles as they awaited sorting. Now, her boys were becoming men, leaving the building they called home to start their adventures in the adult world. Something Maria was a tad jealous of.

So on the morning of the 30th of June, Maria took extra time getting ready for classes, making sure she looked perfect before heading down for breakfast. On the way down from the room that had become, essentially, a large wardrobe; Maria had a chance to reflect on the last pair of years. On her achievements, her behaviour. Recognizing as it was her godson's special day, Maria made a conscious to have a smile on her face, and try to behave as she used to, even if it was a lie.

"What if there's nothing here for me anymore?" she pondered, gazing at the young students gossiping over some teen drama.

That line resonated with the fairy, seeing her boys graduate was the only thing keeping her in Hogwarts. So, what was stopping her from moving on? Before she could give it any more thought, the boys in question appeared, almost knocking her down as they rushed past the Great Hall.

"Oi! What's got you all in a rush?" Maria inquired, laughing as they caught their breath.

Sneaking up behind her, Sirius replied," To see our favourite teacher of course. Looking glamorous as ever," concluding with a peck on her cheek.

"And you," she pointed a finger at him," are still as much as a chancer, Mr Black."

"Ah, but rhymes with Mr Black?" he retorted.

Playing along, Maria sardonically deliberated, "Do enlighten me."

"Mrs Maria Black."

The marauders cat-whistled, pushing Sirius forward as they yipped and hollered.

"Oh? Doesn't rhyme much now does it." the fairy pointed out, slightly put down at the look of dismay painted on Sirius' face, " Better luck next time, dear."

Patting him on the shoulder, Maria was about to speak again when suddenly Peter came dashing around the corner, almost colliding with a suit of armour.

"Quick! Filch is coming!"

Suddenly, the band of boys began backing away from the Great Hall, looking at each other with cheeky smiles. That only meant one thing: they had pulled the mother of all pranks on the caretaker.

"Well-eh," Sirius rubbed the back of his neck," lovely having a chit chat with you darling, but we've got to fly," sprinting down the corridor out to the courtyard.

Remus and Peter followed him, sending Maria apologetic smiles before running after laughing Gryffindor and joining in on the celebration. Though before James could join them, the fairy held him back.

"Professor-I really should go too-," James rushed, catching a glimpse of Filch racing down the corridor.

"Don't move," Maria instructed, waving her hand over him in a hushed whisper, "Ice Mirror."

Just as James was about to protest further, his body began to seize up and disappear, blending in with the gargoyle statue behind him. Once he had fully faded away, Maria quickly transfigured her dress pin into a copy of Witch Weekly and posed to busy herself with it as Argus finally reached her.

"Mr Filch, how can I help you?" The fairy greeted the caretaker, too sweet to be wholesome.

Grimacing at her civility, he grunted out a response with his grubby kitten, Mrs Norris, dawdling behind," Where are they?"

"Who?" Maria asked.

"Those hooligans of yours! Setting off dung bombs in the greenhouse, getting the armour to tapdance into classrooms! I've spent all morning pulling Slughorn's classroom furniture off the ceiling, for Christ's sake!" Mr Filch growled.

"Well, I've been reading the paper for the ten minutes here, but why don't you ask Professor Sprout, they're far more fond of her than they are of me," Maria suggested satirically, pointing towards the herbology professor's office.

Muttering curses under his breath, Filch left the fairy and continued down the corridor, with Mrs Norris hissing at her when she passed. Turning up her nose as the caretaker disappeared out of sight, Maria returned her newspaper to a pin and lifted the spell off James.

"That was awesome, but please, never freeze me without informing me beforehand. That scared the living daylights out of me," James disclosed, squirming when a piece of ice slid down his neck.

Drying him off with a mini gust of wind, Maria pointed out they're mistakes, "Well, if you were a bit more inconspicuous with your pranking, then I wouldn't have had to freeze you. I thought I trained you better," ending the sentence with a cheeky grin.

"Eh, it doesn't really matter anymore, does it? Besides, Slughorn had it coming, slimy old bat." James shared, joining the fairy as they walked out of the grounds and towards the area where the graduation ceremony would be held.

"Agreed."

They both burst into laughter as they walked across the enchanted bridge, decorated with vines and an array of colourful flowers.

The graduation itself was being held on a small island in the middle of the Black Lake. Seats were set out, and an aisle was created down the middle, leading to a large podium in the centre. All in all, it felt like a wedding in a way, with everyone parents waiting anxiously for their child to walk down that aisle.

Though before James could join the other seventh years, the fairy held him back, pulling her godson into a tight hug as she doted on him.

"I can't believe you're leaving me already- no, I'm not crying," Dabbing a few stray tears from her eyes, Maria continued," I'm so proud of you James, you've grown into the most charismatic, caring and brave man. You know I'm not fond of your career choice and I'm not your mother but, I'm proud of your determination and so are Fi and Montie for raising such an outstanding, young man.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Stop that now, I'm not your teacher anymore, I'm your godmother now," Maria joked leaving James to join his friends, who waved over at the fairy as they straightened out their robes.

Holding the smile on her face, the fairy ventured over to Minerva, who was waiting patiently for her, scroll in hand.

"It's good to see you smiling again," Minerva commented.

Glad her facade was working, Maria finished up the conversation," It's good to have something to smile about."

Before Minerva had a chance to say anything further, Professor Dumbledore took a stance behind the podium and called on the guests to stand up. Just as they had arrived seven years ago, the year group followed Professors McGonagall and Lightly and took their seats in the front row.

Once all had sat down, Maria took a seat next to Euphemia and Fleamont as Albus began his speech. Throughout the parable, parents and guardians were in tears from laughter and the thoughts of their children going out to the big bad world on their own, including Maria, who took a mental note of the empty seats that belonged to Walburga and Orion Black.

"Now, can I have your attention as we hand out the graduation certificates?" Albus declared as Maria and Minerva headed towards the front of the aisle.

"When I call your name, you shall receive your certificate and will join your parents at the front of the podium." the transfiguration announced, unrolling the scroll of names and calling out the first," Black, Sirius."

Sirius waltzed up to the stage and collected his scroll from Maria, who surprised him by leaving a small peck on his cheek.

"I knew you'd come round!" he exclaimed, taking her by surprise as he spun the fairy around and finished with a kiss.

Maria waved him off, unable to hide the blush and shock of her face as the rest of the names were called. Soon enough everyone had gotten their scrolls and the class of 78' threw their hats into the air, laughing and crying as they said their goodbyes. The fairy quickly brought all her boys into a group hug, congratulating them before heading into the wooden boats and journeyed across the lake one last time.

After a few minutes they were out of sight, and parents began to disapparate to meet them back at platform 9 3/4, leaving Maria to think back to her previous thought that morning.

What was keeping her at Hogwarts anymore?

~~~~~~~

4

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a great break. This chapter was long-awaited so here we are, only three chapters of Maria's story left!

*The_lost_flower*