Chapter Text
Friday, 30th of June 1978
There’s a picture of Hogwarts, of the castle, in its entirety. There is a long line of carriages all the way up to its entrance portal. It looks almost small out of this perspective, and it gets smaller. Smaller, as they move further and further away.
The very last entry. Our very last minutes as Hogwarts students are already over. The next time we come back (and we totally will), we won’t be students anymore. We will never again a hundred percent belong.
I didn’t know what to say, so I started this entry off with a picture. The train is moving too fast. I feel like I’m getting physically pulled back by Hogwarts, the castle’s very own gravity laws. My body feels weirdly heavy in my seat. I have headache, although I drank no more than a glass of champagne and a bit of butter beer yesterday. My hands are slightly shaky. I might start crying in a minute.
We’re all in one compartment, but instead of the cheerful chatter that you’d normally expect before the summer holidays and that resounds through the entire train, we’re silent. Everyone is too deep in their own head, their own memories. We won’t be coming back in September. We have just the address of our new flat, and the key. The adventure starts right the moment we step onto the platform at King’s Cross.
It’s over, and I know that it is over, and I know that life has to go on now, and I hope that the future will bring great things. I just can’t believe it is really over. It feels so surreal. As if I could wake up any moment and nothing would have happened.
Even Lumos is weighed down by the melancholic atmosphere. He’s sleeping on a free seat, his paws tucked away under his nose. The air on the train is blue, and heavy.
The familiar rattling of the train only reaches my ears through cloud. I’m so tired, but I know that even if I tried, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. My left hand is in James’. I’m glad that he holds me in this mess that we’re about to jump into. I’m feeling poetic, standing at the edge of this metaphorical cliff. I’m sorry if this ending turns out too deep. I hope you liked the album. I hope your time at Hogwarts was as awesome as ours was.
The wizarding world of 1978 is neither the best place nor the best time to transition into adulthood. I guess we’ll make it work somehow. Together.
Future people, let us all remember what our life was like. Let us remember the battles we fought and the laughter we shared. Let us remember breathing in life and growing in the process. Let us remember good times and bad times, hard times and easy times. Let us remember that life is worth living, and let us remember to smile. Let us remember to carry on. Let us remember that friendship and love are worth more than all the galleons of the world. Let us remember that together, even the smallest fish in the sea stand strong against the biggest sharks. Let us remember that the sun rises every morning and sets every night, and that the world doesn’t stop turning when one person makes a mistake. Let us remember that we’re small, and yet so big at the same time.
Remember us if we die. Think back to us with a smile. Say: Those young people were happy with their lives.
Remember that we fought for you. Smile and continue making the world a better place.
(If we’re still alive though: Congratulations. You did well. Go and peacefully enjoy some cake in the peaceful world you created from a not so peaceful one.)
This was the story of the Marauder’s last six months at Hogwarts. Now there’s just one thing left to say:
Once a Marauder, always a Marauder!