This Is Where
A Time Capsule
by Lang Leav
This is where
I began to care,
where I was befriended;
This is where
my soul was bared
where all my rules were bended;
This is where
a moment we shared
was stolen and expended;
Now this is where,
this is where,
this is where we've ended-
65. Epilogue
Nineteen Years Later
The bell above the door tinkled delicately.
"Sorry, we're cl - " Parvati stopped and smiled at who walked through the door. "Why, Professor, I never thought I'd see you in my shop."
Minerva McGonagall closed the door behind her and looked around at the psychic shop that Parvati owned. It was set up in downtown Muggle London, and little did the skeptical Muggles that walked through her door know that they were getting the real deal. The ceiling was decorated with a night sky with accurate constellations that changed to reflect the skies above (she was inspired by the Great Hall ceiling). Delicate instruments sat in glass cases along the wall and books sat on shelves beneath them. Cushy armchairs filled the front room and curtains hung over the windows, creating a cozy atmosphere.
"Could I interest you in a reading?" Parvati asked.
McGonagall raised her eyebrows in amusement. "Not today, I'm afraid."
Parvati glanced at her calendar. "Isn't today the first? How come you're not at the school?"
"This is my first year of retirement," McGonagall replied somewhat proudly.
"Congratulations!"
"Yes, well, after another generation of Weasleys and a second James Potter I decided perhaps it was time to let someone else handle it," McGonagall said wryly.
Parvati grinned. She had met Harry and Ginny's eldest son a couple times and he was indeed a handful.
"You are going to miss it, though, aren't you?" Parvati asked.
"I already do."
Parvati smiled. "So, what inspired the visit, Professor?"
"I was cleaning out my office the other day when I found this," McGonagall said, fishing through her pockets. "I thought you might like to have it."
She pulled her hand out of her cloak and held it out Parvati. Parvati gasped and covered her mouth.
Sitting in McGonagall's hand was the necklace that Lavender had lost back in fourth year. Parvati had bought it for Lavender's fourteenth birthday. It was a delicate gold chain with a gold bunny-shaped pendant in memory of Lavender's rabbit Binky, who'd died in third year. Once Lavender had realized it was missing they went to Dumbledore to ask that he keep an eye out for it, but there was no word of it.
Parvati held her hand out and McGonagall tipped the necklace into it. Parvati stared at it in wonder.
"I have no idea how it ended up in my office, but things lost in Hogwarts often have strange ways of being found," McGonagall said, watching Parvati with a knowing expression.
"Thank you," Pavati said, looking up. She blinked tears away. "Thank you so much."
"Of course. You have a good day, now." McGonagall made to leave.
"You won't stay, have a cup of tea?" Parvati offered.
McGonagall smiled. "Not this time, thank you. I'll visit again soon, and I might even let you give me a reading."
"That'll be the day," Parvati said with a grin. "Thanks for stopping in, Professor."
"Good day," McGonagall said, then pushed the door open again, the little bell tinkling, and then she was gone.
Parvati stared at the necklace in her hand and smiled, then turned and went to her back room. She approached the small corner table where a potted lavender plant sat with a pink bow tied around the lip of the pot.
"Guess what McGonagall found," she said to the plant. "The necklace I got you."
Parvati reached around the base of the plant and fastened the necklace so the charm hung down over the edge of the pot, nestled against the satin bow.
"She said that things we lose in Hogwarts have a way of being found," Parvati said, smiling in memory. "So I was thinking...maybe someday we'll find our way back to each other."
The flowers bobbed, but there was no breeze.
The End.
If you want to know how the ending would have gone if Lavender lived, read that on my tumblr: kiconwrites
Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I hope you see Par and Lav differently now and hopefully better than before. I went through some self-discovery while writing this, so it means a lot to me
8/25/16: I am currently working on a Neville-centric story to be titled All I've Yet To Be, and I'll hopefully be done with it by the end of September. I will work on the sequel to BIK (to be titled Now I Know) after I'm done with AYB
For updates on my writing, you can follow me on tumblr or check my "updates" tag there whenever the urge strikes
Again, thank you so very much! Happy readings! (Oh, and a couple other users and I have made #larvati the Par/Lav ship tag on tumblr)
~Ki