An Ending and a Beginning

Oliver’s eyes traveled up and down Nikki’s body as she walked into the room, her face flushed and her mouth curling into a soft smile. Her dark brown hair fell down her back in a waterfall of curls, her lips shined from the peach lipstick she had spent hours applying, and her eyes, oh her eyes…they sparkled more brilliantly than a thousand diamonds. She wiped a sweating hand on her red dress, then fumbled with her bracelets, nervous from Oliver’s intense gaze. He blinked and shook off the trance he’d been in, then offered his hand to her. She took it, smiling more widely, and followed him into the warm night.

Phoenix d’Espoir had just graduated from Hogwarts, and, unbeknownst to her, her longtime boyfriend, Oliver Wood, was taking her out to dinner for what could be the last meeting with all of her friends. She would leave for Hawaii in just three days to study astronomy, and the prospect frightened her half to death. Everyone else was staying in London, and she was running off to the other side of the world. Still holding hands, they closed their eyes and whispered, "Apparatus," to the night air. They reappeared in a gorgeous wizard restaurant, surrounded by Phoenix’s friends. She opened her eyes put her hands over her mouth, giving a squeal of delight. She flung her arms around Oliver’s neck first, murmuring "Thank you, thank you!" into his hair, then pulled away and hugged all of her friends, one by one.

Harry held her close, rocking her back and forth, then managed to choke out, "I’m going to miss you so much. You take care of yourself, ok?"

Wiping tears off of both their cheeks, she laughed and replied, "You too, you ‘ear me?"

Behind Harry was Ron, who she squeezed tighter than she had Harry. She and Ron had something she’d never felt with Harry, something Nikki knew she’d never be able to replace or repair once she was gone.

For a moment, they just held each other, laughing and crying, then they pulled away, to look in each other’s eyes. Ron must have seen the fear on her face, because he whispered, "You’ll be just fine. This is an adventure, right? You love adventure."

"You won’t be zere with me," she replied hoarsely. At that, Ron took off the chain he’d worn since 5^th year when she’d given it to him for his birthday. It had a little dog tag that read, "Ron Weasley." He draped it around her neck with a grin.

"I’ll be with you, if you always wear it. If you need me, I’m not leaving London. You know where to find me." He gave her one last hug and disappeared into the crowd.

She found Bat and Sam, deep in conversation and looking like they were about to start making out any moment. Biting her lip to contain the laughter that was threatening to burst out, she tapped Bat on the shoulder. Bat gave a happy gasp and threw herself on Phoenix, laughing and crying hysterically. "Girl, you really did it," Bat whispered to her. "No matter if you come back in two weeks or get fired in one day, you did it. You really did it. I’m so proud of you, you know that, right?"

Nikki nodded, smiling through a torrent of tears. "I’m proud of you, too!"

"Why?!?!" Bat asked, laughing again.

"Hey, you survived ‘ogwarts, didn’t you?" She lowered her voice so Sam couldn’t hear. "And gained an extremely ‘ot boyfriend in the process. Although mine eezn’t too bad either…" They erupted into fits of giggles and embraced again.

After saying good-bye to practically everyone she had encountered at Hogwarts (even a pack of Slytherins had shown up!), including the teachers (!), Phoenix sat down at her booth with Oliver. Her eyes shone with tears, yet there was so much happiness in them.

"Thank you so much for doing zis. You don’t know how much eet means to me," she told him earnestly, and he told her to think nothing of it. She turned her head to watch them dance, laugh and talk. A few people waved, and she waved back. "My ‘eart’s breaking," she murmured into the silence, "but the only thing I can think of is how much I want to dance with you right now." She looked back at him, smiling softly. He smiled back and took her hand, leading her out onto the dance floor. They swayed silently to the music, savoring their last moments together for a long time. Oliver wished fervently that he could bottle the moment, and keep it with him forever. The smell of her hair; the taste of her lips as they kissed; the sound of her laughter; the soft music of the band playing behind them, led by Sam and Bat; and the feeling of completeness she gave him would fade all too quickly. Ron, Harry, Draco, Fred, George, Neville, Seamus, Lee, and even Snape (!) all asked her to dance, so Oliver waited patiently as she talked and laughed with each of them.

He reflected on meeting her the first time, when she was a transfer student from France and a blossoming Quidditch player. He remembered how she had beaten him at Quidditch, and how he’d thrown her in the mud for revenge. He recalled how they’d visited at Hogsmeade nearly every weekend, drinking butterbeer and setting off Filibuster’s Fireworks inside the Three Broomsticks. He reminisced every moment he’d ever spent with her, every kiss they’d ever shared, every secret they’d ever revealed, every thing about her. It felt as though she was dying, not simply leaving. From the way Ron played with her hair and traced the outline of her face, he felt the same way, too. Oliver would have laughed when he saw Draco drop his head onto her shoulder and cry, but he almost pitied him. Almost.

Finally, Phoenix felt like her feet were on fire and she simply couldn’t dance anymore. Practically limping, she pushed her way through the crowd to Oliver. As he stared into her eyes, he suddenly remembered something, something he had bought a long time go. Now was the perfect moment for it. With the live fairies fluttering around the room, the sparks flying from people’s wands as they waved them around to form the words, "Good luck, Phoenix!" or "We love you, Nikki!", to the sounds of Sam’s voice echoing seductively off the walls, this could have very well been the most romantic moment in Oliver’s life thus far.

Oliver dropped to his knees. A hush fell over the crowd as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny velvet box. Draco went whiter than usual, and Ron nearly fainted. Harry’s mouth dropped, and Sam stopped singing. "Damn," Draco whispered. "He got to her first." Phoenix put both of her hands over her mouth, but Oliver grabbed one of her wrists and pulled it down so he was holding her hand. With the other hand, he flicked open the velvet case. The ring inside glittered so much that it cast light shadows on the wall that danced across the room.

Ron put his hand on Harry’s shoulder for support. "He’s going to do it Harry…The stupid bastard’s going to propose to Phoenix…"

Phoenix gazed around the room, tears welling up in her eyes once again. Oliver’s voice seemed to be coming from very, very far away as he whispered, "Nikki, will you marry me?"