For the last time EVER...I'm back! With the LAST chapter! D: I really hope you guys like this one, I spent so long on it to try to get it to be perfect. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

PLEASE, I am siriusly begging you to review this chapter. I didn't get ten reviews on the last chapter, yet I still updated because I'm just that nice. Think about it: it's the last chance you'll EVER get to review this story. Please? :)

About a sequel: I am still undecided on this. I'm definetly not writing one right away, I need to focus on House of Liars a bit more than I have been of late. I also need to get some of the challenges I've entered written, and I want to write a Harry Potter multi chapter for an idea I've had for a while now. So, I'm not sure about a sequel. But, if I do end up writing one, I will post on this story to let you guys know! :)

NOW:

The dedication of this chapter is split seven ways.

To Cassy, who has been with this story since the beginning, reviewed every single chapter, and has been a Felton-tastic(hehe :D) friend! Love ya Casserole! (cause I know how much you LOVE that name) ;)

To Katie, who has helped me with my writing(and evil plans :D) countless times, and I can't even begin to describe how much of an amazing friend she is. LOVE YOU KATIE! (I need a nickname for you...hmmm...) :)

To J.K. Rowling, my hero and inspiration, and the wonderful person who let me borrow her characters & world to play around with a bit. I have no idea where I'd be without her, Harry, Ron, Hermione and everyone else. I owe everything to her and them, I love them & I always will.

To everyone in the VSC, who totally accepted me and included me when no one else would. Thank you guise so much!

To everyone that ever reviewed this story: Even if it was only once or twice, thank you! I loved coming home from school each day to see all your lovely reviews waiting for me :) You all are what motivated me to write, and gave me this amazing experience!

To Caroline, whom (I hope :o ) is not reading this, but is the best IRL friend I could ask for.

And to you, if you have stuck with this story until the very end.

Wow, I nearly cried writing that.

Well, for the very last time: Enjoy! And REVIEW! :)

Chapter 25: House of Goodbye
Nina's POV

The following morning, Harry and I were released from the hospital wing. On our way down from the Great Hall, we ran into Fabian.

"Hey Nina, Harry." he said. "Er-Nina, do you want to come walk around on the grounds with me? I brought you some toast."

"Thanks." I smiled. "See you, Harry!"

"Bye." he said, slightly tonelessly and he walked towards the Great Hall. I felt bad that he was so down, but after last night, who could blame him?

We had walked all the way down to the lake before Fabian spoke.

"Just think," he said. "This time last year, we were sitting in normal school, doing normal schoolwork. Not worrying about anything except passing our finals, and what classes we'd be taking next year."

"I know! It seems like such a long time ago." I said, nibbling on my toast.

"Yup. And now here we are, at a magic school with magic wands, going to magic classes and worrying about what fresh hell the Dark Lord's reign will bring." he sighed.

I sighed too. "This year has just been like a dream. A crazy, wonderful...magical dream. It's just been so amazing. I love Hogwarts, and everyone we've met here, and I...I don't want it to end."

Fabian gave me a sad smile. "I guess all good things have to come to an end."

We walked in silence for a few minutes. The birds chirped, and the sun shone down on the beautiful grounds. Hogwarts felt more like home to me than anywhere else had, and just thinking about leaving it made a lump form in my throat.

I knew we'd come back next year, so I tried to think about that, and not the fact that I had to leave for two months. Hogwarts would definetly be different next year, no doubt about that. I wondered what we'd be doing a year from now. Would we be celebrating the end of exams? Or mourning another death?

"Everything's going to change, isn't it?" I said quietly.

"Yes." said Fabian simply. "Everything's going to change. I don't know what will happen, but all I know is that I'll be right at your side the whole time."

I turned to look at him, and his eyes met mine.

"Thank you." I whispered, tears starting to form in my eyes.

Wordlessly, he grabbed my hand, put his other arm around my waist and kissed me.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. This time, it wasn't rushed or spur of the moment, but nice and slow.

When we finally broke apart, I looked into his eyes for a moment.

"I love you." I said softly.

"I love you too." he whispered, and his lips met mine for a third time.

~.~.~.~

The next few days were the saddest and strangest I've ever had at Hogwarts. Even Alfie and Jerome were more subdued than usual.

Harry was unusually quiet. The rest of us would be having a conversation, and he'd just sit there staring off into space until one of us got his attention. I felt bad, and asked him if he wanted to talk about it, but he always said no.

We found out that Rufus had, in fact, used to work for You-Know-Who, but fled when he felt the Dark Mark on his arm burn, and had not been seen since the night of the third task.

One of the only good things was that classes were cancelled for the rest of the term, and now that Fabian and I were "officially a couple" (as Amber put it) we had almost unlimited time together. Of course, we spent most of it with the others, but every once in the while we'd sneak away for a walk, or hang out together away from the others.

Ron and Mara were also officially initiated into Sibuna, sacrificing a Chudley Cannons poster and a favorite book. The ceremony was fun, and definetly one of the highlights of the past few days.

The saddest part, however, was easily the Leaving Feast. We walked into the Great Hall, and saw that the wall behind the teacher's table was draped in black curtains, as a mark of respect for Cedric.

The real Mad-Eye Moody was sitting at the staff table too. I'd heard that he was back to normal, but still a little jumpy. I had tried to avoid him for the past few days, even though I knew he wasn't the one that tortured me, but he still made me uneasy.

Snape was also sitting at the staff table. His gleaming black eyes passed over us as they swept the hall, and I repressed a shiver. What mission had Dumbledore sent him on? Was he really on our side?

Fabian and I took our usual seats in the Great Hall by Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mara. Harry looked even more depressed than he had been the past few days, so I reached out and patted his hand. He gave me a sad smile.

Dumbledore rose, and all talking stopped.

"The end," he said, looking around at all of us, "of another year."

He continued to say that Cedric exemplified the qualities of Hufflepuff house, and he was a good and kind friend. I had tears in my eyes by the time we raised a toast to Cedric. I hadn't known him very well, but it was still awful.

"Every guest in this hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come." said Dumbledore, his eyes lingering on the Durmstrang students. "I say to you all, once again-in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing on equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts open."

Dumbledore paused, and I glanced around the hall at all the now farmiliar faces. Then around at my friends at the Gryffindor table. If everything really was going to changed, I wanted to be next to them when it did. My heart swelled at the thought of returning for another year with them. We were in this together, and we'd stay that way, no matter what life threw at us.

"It is my belief-and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken-that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this hall may have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst."

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy,remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

After Dumbledore finished speaking, everyone stood up to leave the hall-all except Fabian, Amber, Patricia, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Mara and I.

For a moment, we all looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Then, in one, slow fluid movement, all of us at the same time raised our hands to our eyes for one last time, and said a single word.

"Sibuna."

We were united. We were one. We were a team, and we were in this together. At that moment, I knew that we could make it through anything.

We were Sibuna.

Fabian's POV

The morning had come far too quickly for my liking, especially since we'd stayed up past two last night, talking and playing gobstones and wizard's chess. Everyone had seemed much more lighthearted and happy than they had in what felt like a long time. Harry especially, had seemed cheerier. The Leaving Feast had sort of given us closure, and I knew I'd be seeing eveyone next year. Ron had even told us he might be able to have us over this summer!

I cast a sideways glance at Nina. We were outside of Hogwarts saying our goodbyes to the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students, waiting for the carriages to come and take us to Hogsmeade station. Since we hadn't really gotten to know any of the foreign students, Nina and I were standing off to the side. She looked a mixture of happy and sad, as she watched our friends say goodbye.

"You alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied. "Just a bit sad to be leaving."

"Well, we'll be back next year." I said. "And you can see everyone over the summer, if Ron can have us."

"But I'll be in America, I doubt I'll be able to come." she said sadly. "Maybe a few days before term starts, but that's it."

"It's only two months away." I reminded her, squeezing her hand. "And aren't you excited to see your Gran?"

"Yeah!" she brightened. "I don't think I'll tell her she's not actually my real Gran though. She raised me, it feels like she is, so why would I do that to her?"

"Yeah, it's probably best not to tell her." I agreed.

We stood in silence for a few minutes. I looked over at Patricia, who seemed to be in deep conversation with Krum. When I met her five years ago, I never would have thought that she was a witch and I was a wizard. So much had changed over the past year, it was unbelievable.

The carriages finally arrived, and we boarded them. As I got on, I took a final look at the place I had learned to call home over the past year, and sighed. Two more months...

The train ride was pretty uneventful. Nina, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mara and I passed the time by talking and playing exploding snap.

When it finally pulled in to King's Cross station, I felt a lump of dread in my stomach. Getting off the train meant saying goodbye to Nina, and everyone else. It meant putting away my wand for the summer, and becoming part of the muggle world. And I didn't want to do either of those things.

But, I couldn't exactly spend the summer on a train, so I got off with everyone else.

The guard let us off the platform in groups of three, so it wouldn't look suspicious to all the muggles that three hundred people just happened to appear in the station.

"Mum! Dad!" I cried when I spotted them, and hurried over to embrace them. I assumed Dumbledore had told them about Hogwarts.

"Fabian!" Mum exclaimed, hugging me tightly.

I grinned at her and my dad. "I'm just gonna go say bye to my friends, I'll be right back."

The nodded, and I hurried off in search of Nina. I spotted her over by the platform, hugging Hermione goodbye.

"Hey." I said as I approached her.

She turned to me and gave me a sad smile. "Hey."

"I'm going to miss you." I said softly, squeezing her hand.

She pulled me into a hug. "I'm going to miss you too." she whispered, and I could tell she was barely holding back tears.

I kissed her for a final time, letting my lips linger on hers for a few seconds.

"Write to me, okay?" I told her. "Or, I guess now that we're in the muggle world you can call or text me too." I added with a grin.

She laughed. "Yeah, haven't done that in a while."

"Hey! Fabian! Nina!" a voice called over to us. We turned to see Amber and Patricia hurrying over to us.

"Just wanted to say goodbye." said Amber, giving Nina and then me a hug.

"Have a nice summer." said Patricia. She wasn't a very hug-y person, so she just grinned at us.

"You too!" said Nina. She glanced around at us. "Do you guys remember how this all started? Because we heard Victor talking to Mr. Sweet about certain "items" hidden in his office?"

"Yeah." Amber smiled. "And we had this whole plan that totally failed."

I laughed. "Sort of. But, we did find the "items.""

"But we only found them because I was clumsy and tripped." Nina said, and we all laughed.

"Well, it's a good thing you did." said Patricia. "Otherwise, none of this would have happened. We would have been stuck back at our old school with Victor who was working for Voldemort."

"And we never would have known." I said. It strange, really, thinking about how different this year had been. All I knew was that I was glad things had worked out the way they did.

"Well, I better go find my Gran." said Nina. She gave Patricia and Amber a last hug, and me a last kiss on the cheek. "I'll miss you guys! Write to me!"

As I watched her walk away, with the sunlight glinting off her hair, I felt a flicker of hope. Sure, things were going to change, but whatever next year throws at us, as long as I have Sibuna by my side, we could make it through anything. What's coming will come, and we'll meet it when it does.

Hermione's POV

I glanced over at Fabian and Nina saying goodbye, and decided I should probably say bye to Ron. I headed over to where he was standing, near the barrier.

"Hey." I said.

"Hi." he replied. "You know, I might even miss you this sumer. But, you know, just a little."

I grinned and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I might miss you too. Maybe. Not too much though."

He laughed, and pulled me into a hug. When we broke apart, I kissed him on the cheek.

"Have a great summer." I said.

He grinned. "You too. Hey, turns out I will miss you after all."

"Well, turns out I'll miss you too." We stood there, smiling stupidly at each other for a few moments.

"So, my mum said I could invite a few people to stay over this summer." he said.

"Will I be one of them?" I asked.

"Maybe, if its in one of those rare moments that I'm missing you." He joked. I laughed, but then he turned serious and lowered his voice. "Also depending on stuff with...You-Know-Who, I not sure when or how."

I nodded. "Okay, well write to me!"

"You too." He smiled. "Bye."

"Bye." I walked away, feeling slightly more optimistic about the summer and the coming year. Which was weird, considering we were all in constant danger now that You-Know-Who was back. But, as long as I had Ron, Harry, and everyone else by my side, I was sure we could get through anything. What's coming will come, and we'll meet it when it does.

Harry's POV

"Bye Harry." said Nina, giving me fleeting hug. "Write to me! I'm going to miss you!"

"I will, I'm going to miss you too!" I said, smiling at my sister. It was true, I was going to miss her a lot. She gave me a wave, and walked away to say goodbye to someone else.

"Nice getting to know you this year, Harry." said Fabian, walking up to me. "Hopefully I'll see you soon!"

"Yeah!" I agreed, clapping him on the back. "Have a good summer."

"You too!" he grinned and walked off.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned and saw Mara standing behind me.

"Hey." she said. "Just thought I'd say bye."

I felt the knot of guilt that had been in my stomach all week tighten. I hadn't really spent much time with her-or anyone, really- over the past few days.

"Listen..." I ran my fingers though my hair. "I'm really sorry for sort of...shutting you out this week. I was just..." I trailed off.

"It's fine." said Mara, taking my hand. "I understand. You were going through alot."

"Thanks." I said, smiling greatfully. "So, you'll write to me this summer?"

"Of course! Oh, and since you live with muggles..." she took out a piece of parchment, scribbled something down on it, and handed it to me. "Here. It's my phone number, call me whenever you like."

"Great!" I said, pocketing the slip of parchment. "Hopefully we'll be able to go to Ron's sometime soon."

"Yeah." she sighed. "I'm going to miss you."

I leaned down, and kissed her gently. "I'll miss you too."

She gave me kiss on the cheek. "I'll hopefully see you an Ron's soon! Write to me or call me, okay?"

"Definetly." I said. "Bye!"

She waved and hurried off in search of her parents. I leaned my back against one of the muggle platforms. I didn't feel like looking for the Dursley's yet, I needed a few last moments of freedom.

"Hey." said another voice behind me. This time, it was Ron and Hermione.

"Hi." I replied, grinning.

"Been an interesting year, hasn't it?" said Ron.

"Definetly." I agreed.

"Could it be anything but interesting at Hogwarts?" said Hermione, and we laughed.

She was right, a year at Hogwarts could definetly never be boring. I was sure next year would be even more "interesting", but whatever happened, I was glad to have Ron and Hermione and Fabian and Nina and everyone else by my side. Whatever the future brought, I was glad to be spending a few final moments of peace with Ron and Hermione.

And then Nina woke up and realized it was all just a dream.

KIDDING! Kidding! Totally joking! :P

Soo, my lame attept at humor aside, what did you guys think? Let me know in a review! Remember, it's the last chapter, so it's your last chance...Maybe if I get at least 15 reviews, I'll write a "bonus scene" of Mara and Ron's initiation. Also, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd vote on the poll on my profile so I can decide what direction to go in next. :)

Ack, I was nearly crying while writing this chapter...it was the last one, and Dumbledore's speech always makes me cry. D':

Okay...I just want to thank you all for giving me this amazing experience. Writing this story helped me so much, and not just in terms of writing skills. I was going through a really bad time when I started writing this, and it was my escape from reality. All of your wonderful reviews totally boosted my self-confidence, and made me a lot happier. So for that, I will be forever greatful. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

Love you all madly! Thank you again for being such great readers!

~Sara