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It was the night of Christmas Eve, and the snow was falling down beautifully, making Deanna shake her head at the thought of travelling in this weather. She had a small smile at her face, remembering the Christmas she spent in Hogwarts or the Christmas of last year when she and Hermione finally got together.

She spent the entire month, practicing her spells and preparing for what they needed to do with the Horcruxes. Luckily, she did not have any visions with Voldemort who seemed like he was intent on hiding his plans from Deanna. And of course, it was hard for her to separate with Grindelwald and Christian after the bond they made but it was necessary. And it hurt more because she knew she would never see them again.

Before she would start her journey again and look for the other Horcruxes, Deanna wanted to visit her mother's grave at the back of the castle and the graves of her friends and families in Godric's Hollow. She didn't have Polyjuice Potion or anything, but the fact that she could use magic freely made her feel a little more confident.

Deanna stroked Fawkes's fully grown feathers and kissed the top of his head. "Are you ready to go?"

At Fawkes's weak cry, Deanna chuckled and nodded. "Me too. I feel sad too. They're too kind to us and I won't meet them again after this. Fawkesy?"

Fawkes stared into her blue eyes and tilted his head, making Deanna smile before she continued. "You know that I'm going to die, right?" He didn't answer and simply stared at Deanna, making the Hufflepuff sigh. "Fawkesy, after I die, can I ask you to promise me something?"

After a few moments of staring at each other, Fawkes finally nodded, making Deanna smile wider. "Promise me that you'll look out for my family and friends once in a while. Please check if they're living happily, and if they're eating well and taking care of themselves. Can you promise that?"

Deanna's heart broke at how a tear escaped Fawkes's eyes as he nodded, sealing a promise between the two phoenixes. Deanna chuckled shakily and pressed her forehead to his, a tear falling out of her eye. "Thank you, Fawkesy. A phoenix may burn, but they'll rise again from the ashes. I will still be in your memories and in your hearts even after death."

Fawkes gave another cry and flew to Deanna's shoulder, making Deanna smile and stand up. She picked up her bag and wore her father's old cloak, looking down to make sure her purple socks were fine. Deanna tapped the phoenix pendant on her necklace before looking around the room that became home to her for the past months. She sent one last smile before leaving the room. To the next journey, indeed.

Deanna went up the stairs and opened the door to the topmost cell, smiling at Grindelwald and Christian who had tears in their eyes. "Oh, you two." She hugged Christian first, smiling softly. "Thank you for making sure I always felt at home."

"Thank you for coming here and bringing light to us." Christian wiped away his tears and grinned at Deanna. "I wish you luck on your next journey, Deanna Dumbledore."

Deanna grinned back at him before turning to Grindelwald who was already crying. She wrapped her arms around the old man and let her tears fall freely. "I'll miss you two, Sir Gellert. Thank you..."

Those two words from Deanna expressed everything. Her gratitude for the truth, her forgiveness for what he had done and her hopes that they would meet again one day. His own tears falling, Grindelwald pulled back and wiped away Deanna's tears as he smiled softly at his former lover's daughter. "If only fate was kind to you, dear... Thank you too for everything, and I hope for your safe journey."

Deanna smiled at the two men and nodded. "Thank you..." She turned to Christian. "About my mother..."

"Yes, she's just there at the back of the castle." Christian gave one last sniff. "I'll lead you there and bring down the enchantments so you can Disapparate away."

Deanna nodded at him and turned to Grindelwald who smiled at her. "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure, Deanna. Until next time."

"Until next time, Mister Gellert." Deanna smiled back at him and sent one last wave before she left the cell, following Christian down the stairs to say goodbye to her mother who she decided to visit on her final day.

Gellert Grindelwald let out one last sigh before he slid down the wall and held his head in his hands. His body was shaking and when he couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out a sob, followed by another. He tried to stay strong for Deanna because he knew it would be hard for her to handle the truth alone, but now that he was alone, he could finally show his weakness and just how much pain he had been feeling for Deanna. Grindelwald just made a wish then, something he had never done before, for the gods up there to have mercy and save Deanna from what was about to come.

Deanna, Christian and Fawkes finally arrived at the grave behind the castle, and Christian went to the side to give Deanna privacy with her mother. Kneeling down, she could see fresh flowers at the grave and made a new batch of flowers with her wand. She smiled softly and rubbed a thumb over the top of the grave, finally meeting her mother at last.

ISABELLA DIANA FRITZ

June 30, 1881 – November 13, 1928

Despite the burning fire, she did not falter and held her hand out.

"Hey, Mum." Deanna said softly. "I'm sorry it took me so long to visit you. I've always kept you in my heart even if I didn't know much about you. Thanks to Sir Gellert, I got to know more about you and I'm so proud to be your daughter. I hope you're proud of me too." She let out a sigh and smiled once more. "I love you, Mum. Stay with me. Always."

And with that, Deanna stood up and smiled at Christian who was waiting for her near the sea. "Ready, Deanna?"

"Yes, Sir." The two of them laughed while Christian raised his wand and started muttering some enchantments under his breath. He did that for a whole minute and then, there was like a change in the atmosphere, making Deanna realize he removed the charms for Apparition around the castle.

"Now, go quick. This will only last for a minute." Christian patted her on the shoulder. "Stay safe now, Deanna."

"Take care of yourself and Sir Gellert too, Christian. Until next time." With Fawkes flying above her, Deanna sent him one last smile before she clapped her hands around Fawkes's tail and the two of them Disapparated away from Nurmengard Castle.

'Farewell, Sir Gellert, Christian. To the hopes that we'll meet again.'

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The cold air hitting her skin, Deanna shivered and looked around. They were back in Godric's Hollow. She wanted to visit her family and friends before she had to leave to find Hermione and the others. She needed to help them with the Horcruxes, and she knew it was going to be hard, but Deanna knew she'd find her way back to Hermione, no matter what.

Deanna went to the graveyard right away while covering Fawkes in her cloak. She rubbed her hands together to bring some warmth to her and Fawkes as her clothes were too thin for the weather, but it was too cold indeed. She went to the graves of Ignatius, Thaddeus, Magnus, Elladora, Lucretia, Septimus and Cedrella first.

Waving her wand, Deanna crouched down and watched the flowers bloom on each of their graves. She just smiled at the thought that she'd be with them soon. "Hey, be proud of your grandchildren and children. They're amazing people just like how you have been, and I'm glad I got to meet them." She smiled softly and made a small candle in the middle of the graves. "I love you, I'll see you soon."

Deanna then went to the graves of Aries, Dallas and Lorraine, taking something from her bag and placing it in the center. It was the picture of the four of them in their Hogwarts robes. Aries smiling at the laughing Lorraine while Dallas was ruffling Deanna's hair.

"How have you three been?" Deanna sat down, smiling softly. "Aries and Dallas, you two must be causing trouble up there, giving headaches to Lorraine. Somehow, I think you really did never leave my side. These past two years, I've been feeling strength to face everything and I just thought maybe, you really stayed by my side. So, hold on for a little longer, alright? We'll meet soon, my friends, I love you."

After taking one last smile at the picture of them and making another candle, she went around to look for her grandparents and aunt's graves when she saw a new wreath of flowers at two of the graves. She went over to it and her eyes softened upon seeing that they were the graves of James and Lily Potter. She made another wreath of flowers and made another candle, giving a bow to express her gratitude for their sacrifices.

"There they are." Deanna grinned when she saw Kendra, Percival and Ariana's graves. She saw another wreath of flowers and wondered if it was just a coincidence that on the same day, there were new flowers on the Potters' and the Dumbledores' graves. She shook the thought away and made her own batch and another candle.

"Finally, I'll be meeting you soon." Deanna chuckled and let Fawkes out of her cloak. He nuzzled the headstones one by one and left a feather on top of each. "So please stay there with Pops and wait for me, alright? I'll be there soon, Gramps, Grandmum, Aunt Ari. Come on, Fawkesy."

Fawkes let out a quiet cry and went back into the cloak. On her way out, Deanna then noticed a sign on one of the graves, and her eyes widened, seeing Grindelwald's sign. She brushed away the snow from the top of the headstone, and her eyes widened. "Ignotus Peverell." She thought hard enough. Did she ever hear the name? But it couldn't ring any bells in Deanna's head so she just sighed and made her way out.

"Fawkesy, you think the old house is still here?" Deanna suddenly remembered. She grinned at Fawkes. "Come on, let's take a look before we go." She started walking around despite the cold, looking at the several houses that were lit up, probably celebrating Christmas Eve.

"Merry Christmas, Fawkesy." Deanna kissed the top of his head, and Fawkes nuzzled Deanna's cheek in response, making the Dumbledore smile widely. She suddenly saw a sign near one of the cottages with the right side of the top floor blown apart and went to it, her eyes widening at the message in golden letters. "Fawkesy, this is Harry's house. Look."

"On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family." Deanna smiled at the scribbled messages around these words, hoping Harry could see them one day and get strength from them.

Deanna went around once more, grinning when she finally found their old house, and it was old as she expected, nobody had lived there after Ariana's death, and she only went here once with Dumbledore to take some stuff. She knew her family had only painful memories in here and that's why they never told people they lived in Godric's Hollow.

With one last sigh, Deanna turned around, seeing the light of the candles inside the cottage in front of their old house. She remembered it was Bathilda Bagshot who lived right in front of them and she thought she could ask her something. She probably knew something about the sign since she was Grindelwald's great-aunt.

"Fawkesy, I think it's that time again, yeah?" Deanna smiled at the phoenix who nodded and flew out of her cloak. She realized she needed to protect Fawkes and she just had a bad feeling about Bathilda Bagshot's cottage. She kissed the top of his head and stroked his feathers. "Go to Uncle Ab and Aunt Ari first. They'll take care of you, yeah?" Fawkes gave a loud cry and nuzzled Deanna's cheek before he turned around and disappeared in a flame.

With determination, Deanna brought her wand out and started towards the old cottage. "Lumos." She wrinkled her nose because of the bad smell that met her senses. Deanna's eyes widened when she could feel something ominous from inside the house, something she had felt countless times before. "Don't tell me... Tom?"

Her grip on her wand tightening, Deanna entered the house silently. Looking around, she could see a silhouette of a woman in one of the rooms. She took in a deep breath before entering the room, her wand pointed at the girl who seemed familiar. "Who are you?"

Hermione jumped at the sudden voice and she whipped around, her wand up, but blue met brown and both pairs of eyes widened at seeing each other, hearts beating hard against their chests. After months of longing and worrying, they finally meet again. Lowering their wands, the two girls stood rooted to their spots, just staring at each other, their eyes conveying just what they felt for each other. The whole world seemed to fade away as they only saw each other. In that moment, it was only Deanna and Hermione.

"Hermione." Deanna finally whispered, breaking the silence. Hermione's tears fell as she ran towards Deanna and hugged her tight, surprising the Dumbledore for a moment before she smiled softly and hugged her back just as tight with no intention of letting go. She wiped away her tears and rubbed Hermione's back. "I missed you."

Hermione's eyes widened at the sudden confession, and it just made her tears fall even more. "Cheesy badger... I missed you too." And Deanna kissed Hermione's cheek, smiling at the Gryffindor. Yeah, fate was tragic to her, but in that moment, Deanna thanked the fates for leading her back to Hermione, to her love.

Hermione simply smiled back, the worry finally leaving her after months. Since they got separated, Hermione never stopped worrying for Deanna. She thought of the Hufflepuff every day and wondered about her well-being, and finally, after months of longing, they were reunited and Hermione would never let Deanna leave her again. Never again.

"How have you been? Where are Harry and Ron?" Deanna suddenly asked, worried that Hermione was alone. Hermione's smile faltered at the mention of Ron, but just as she was about to answer, Deanna could feel the magical presence of Voldemort once more. "He's here."

"Who?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Where are Harry and Ron?" Deanna asked frantically.

Hermione clenched her fists once more at the mention of Ron which Deanna noticed this time. "R-Ron's not with us, and Harry's upstairs."

"Damn it, come on." Deanna took Hermione's hand and ran up the stairs. "Keep your wand up."

"Deanna, what –"

"Just trust me, Hermione." Deanna said firmly, making Hermione nod and hold her wand up. She opened the door quickly to the room and saw that Harry was being squeezed by the snake, Nagini. "Flipendo!" The snake was blasted off Harry and Deanna's eyes widened when she noticed the corpse of Bathilda Bagshot. She was dead...

"Harry!" Hermione quickly helped Harry who got his wand and held a hand to his forehead.

"D-Deanna?" Harry croaked out, his throat sore from how Nagini choked him. "W-What –?"

Deanna could feel the presence coming nearer and her eyes widened. "He's coming now. We have to go. Confringo!" She cast the spell at the snake who was about to hit them once more, but Nagini dodged it and knowing there was no time, Deanna turned around and wrapped her arms around Harry and Hermione, the fangs of the snake closing upon her right arm. She gritted her teeth due to the pain and casted another spell. "Ignis Rugiet!"

The fireballs hit Nagini and she hit the wall of the room though she quickly bounced back, looking angrier than before. Hermione screamed, "Confringo!" And her spell flew around the room, hitting Deanna in the shoulder. Deanna ignored the pain and took Hermione and Harry's hands in hers, jumping through the smashed window as they twisted in midair.

Before they Disapparated, Deanna could see Voldemort screaming in rage and watching the three of them get away. She knew it was because it was in Godric's Hollow where he fell and again, here in Godric's Hollow, he will fall. And suddenly, Deanna's head hurt so bad that her eyes watered in the pain.

She gritted her teeth to hold in her scream and suddenly, a bunch of visions made their way into her mind. She saw Harry and Voldemort facing off each other somewhere. She saw Ron using his Deluminator in the darkness. She saw Hermione sobbing so bad. Then, she saw herself hugging Fawkes and burning. She saw a place of eternal snow.

"The cold kills a phoenix who burns to rise from the ashes. Yet snow is the final destination of the heir."

With those last words ringing in her mind, Deanna surrendered to the darkness, a tear falling from her eye. She just saw the future and somehow, despite all the visions she saw, it was not her death that hurt her but the image of Hermione sobbing so hard that made her feel like her heart was torn apart.

"I'm sorry, I love you."

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