Adele Black: The End

Missing Him Was Dark Gray, All Alone

"Well? Take your camera! Honestly Miss Black, you're acting like you've never seen a grown woman wear capris before!"

Professor McGonagall handed me the camera. She didn't look like her usual self, but I suppose that's to be expected considering the fact that she was in Muggle Athens.

She was wearing a pair of gray capris and a red T-shirt. Her hair was in a pony tail instead of the usual tight bun, and she looked totally like a mortal. I was actually kind of impressed.

"Thank you Professor. It's beautiful here, isn't it? All the temples and statues... the sea..." I said with a smile.

McGonagall smiled back. "I heard you talking to that tour guide. Well done. I have half the mind to invite you to be the tour guide for the Hogwarts Staff, but you're here with Mr. Weasley. However, have you ever thought about teaching? My new goal as Headmistress is to get Professor Binns to recognize that he is, in fact, a ghost."

"I'm honored, truly, and maybe if I don't get into The Wizarding School of Law I'll think about it. Anyways, please tell the other professors that Fred and I say hello. It's always a pleasure seeing you, Professor, but Fred and I are going to go see the Old Temple of Athena, and then the Temple of Athena Nike."

"Please have fun. You deserve it," she smiled at me before walking away.

I went back to Fred and gave him stressed out eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"McGonagall took our picture. The Hogwarts professors are here at the Acropolis with us," I groaned.

Fred sighed. "I'd rather be bitten by a blast-ended skewert than be staying in the room across from McGonagall."

"Wouldn't we all," I grimaced.

Fred and I spent the rest of that day on the Acropolis, looking at the sights. Fred asked me questions, and I was all too happy to answer them. His were full of excitement when I gave him answers, and he hung on to every word I said. I read the signs I saw to him, the inscriptions on things, and told him the stories of the gods. I was careful not to invoke the names of any monsters. We ended the day at Hermes' Mail Post, where Fred and I developed a few copies of a picture of Fred with his arms wrapped around me in front of the Parthenon. We sent a copy of a picture out to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione with a letter written by Fred that said:

Hello from Greece!

We've decided to go on holiday! Athens is amazing so far! We went to The Parthenon and some surrounding sites today, and tomorrow we're going to a museum! It's super pretty here (but Adele is still prettier!), and the weather has been great! We can't wait to share our adventure with you all when we get back, but here's a small hint about something on our trip so far:

Tour Guide: 0
Adele Black: 1

We love you loads!

Fred and Adele

We sent the letters off with an owl and made our way back to the hotel after a quick dinner, and quickly fell asleep.

On the third day of our trip, Fred and I went back up to Muggle Athens to explore even more. We visited the Altar of the 12 Gods, the Temple of Ares and the Temple of Hephaestus. Unfortunately, there were no tour guides for me to correct, because Fred and I toured it without one.

On the fourth day, we went to the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't stay long, because as soon as I stepped into the water, two sharks came swimming to the the shore and effectively cleared the beach.

That would be Poseidon telling me to get out of the water.

On the fifth day, Fred and I wandered around the Botanical Gardens and the museums in Wizarding Athens. We were a couple in love, that much was clear, and I knew that if I was the person I was at age 10, I would be disgusted at how much love that Fred and I looked at each other with.

On the sixth day, we ventured up to mortal Athens once more. This time, we went to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. On the way to that however, we had passed the Temple of Kronos and Rhea whilst on the tour, and I suddenly found myself at odds with a tour guide once more.

"Now, Kronos ate all his children, except for his youngest, Zeus. You see, Rhea, Kronos' wife, managed to pass Zeus off as a rock, and Kronos believed it. It wasn't very difficult to tell the difference between Zeus and a rock, considering that Zeus did look like a rock when he was born—"

I froze and looked at the tour guide with trepidation. She didn't look like much: her hair was dark gray and in two braids, her skin was tan, she was small, and she wore a necklace with a peace sign. Her eyes, however... they were Percy's eyes. They were Poseidon's eyes.

I grabbed Fred's hand as we continued around the area. My heartbeat sped up. I listened to the woman talk, but was cautious and observed her every move. Fred ran his thumb in circles on the palm of my hand, and I felt my pulse settle down.

"If there's no questions, please, do look around! I hope you had a wonderful time on this tour!" The woman called out with a grin once we reached the Temple of Zeus.

The crowd dispersed, and the woman stood there and rocked back and forth on her feet, a smile on her face. I took a breath and dropped Fred's hand and made my way up to her. Fred trailed behind me, stopping to take a few pictures of the landscape on the camera.

"Excuse me, Miss?" I asked her.

"Hello! Did you have any questions?" She asked, turning to me. Her green eyes shined with excitement and recognition, like she knew who I was. Up close, I could see the resemblance her eyes had to Percy's even more. It was almost uncanny, and she even had the same nose shape as Percy and Poseidon.

"Yes, but uhm, this might sound weird. You said Zeus looked like a rock when he was born, and it sounded... as if you were there," I hesitantly said.

The woman gave me a soft smile. "What sort of mother would I be if I didn't remember what my son looked like when he was born?"

I suddenly eyed the lion pin she had on her badge that designated her as a tour guide, and I knew exactly who she was.

"Rhea?" I asked.

The woman nodded. "And you must be Adele. I've heard all about you, of course— my son Poseidon's always going on and on about how Percy's friends with two daughters of Athena, and that he's absolutely in love with one of them, but her name is Annabeth, so that must mean you're Adele."

I smiled and nodded. "It's great to meet you. I never thought you'd be here."

Rhea laughed. It was warm and comforting, much like the hugs from Mrs. Weasley. "Yes, I usually do stay out of godly affairs these days. I spend my summers doing tours here, but during the other months, I run a pottery studio in the states. I was so angry when I heard that my husband had risen again, but thankfully that was put to a stop. I don't like fighting. I'm not the best at combat, you see."

I smiled, and was unsure what to say to her. Rhea was obviously out of the loop on a lot of things, that much was clear. It also didn't seem like it was purposeful that we met. It honestly just seemed like it was by chance. She didn't seem to have sought me out, nor did I seek her out.

I took off my drawstring bag and pulled out a few drachmas. "Here," I said, handing them to her. "You did a wonderful job with the tour. Much better than the person we had a few days ago."

Rhea accepted them. "Thank you. Not many people tip, much less in drachmas! And, oh yes, I heard about the incident. Called you an anti-hero, right? Well, he told that to your boyfriend."

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, I don't think you're an anti-hero. Did you know that I'm the goddess of motherhood and fertility?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"The way you schooled the tour guide impressed me. Also, just so you know, you're very, very fertile. So's your boyfriend. I'd be very careful when you're intimate. Of course, with the birth control you're on, there shouldn't be any problems. But if you do get off of it, still be careful."

"Adele, you won't believe the picture I just took— oh, hello!" Fred said.

"Fred, this is Rhea. She's my great-grandmother, on my mother's side," I smiled, introducing them.

"Oh, er, hello. I'm Fred," he said, moving to shake her hand. Rhea instead pulled him into a hug.

"You two are such a wonderful couple! I've already seen how your story plays out, of course. You'll both be wonderful parents. Adele, you'll be an excellent mother, and Fred will be an excellent father. I can see it now... a visit from you with your children to visit their great-great grandmother in the summer! Well, it was wonderful meeting you! My next tour starts soon!" Rhea enthusiastically spieled before she went into a sprint down to the base of the hill.

There was a moment of silence between Fred and I as we both processed what just happened.

"Well, at least we have a reason to return in the future? The far off future, I mean," Fred said.

I grasped his hand. "Yeah, in the future. The far off future. Fred, I hope you know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter how long or how short."

Fred let out a sigh of relief. "That's a relief, because I want that too, and it makes me feel better about what I'm about to do."

I froze. There was no way he was proposing. He couldn't propose. This wasn't part of the plan.

"Adele, would you give me the honor of agreeing to the idea of a Sirius Black inspired hair product line for George and I to sell in the shop? We were thinking about developing a potion that would give the drinker a rocking curly mane like Sirius'."

What?

I was gobsmacked for a brief second before I regained my composure. "Yes!"

"Really?" Fred grinned.

"Really. My dad was so impressed by you and George, and what you could do. His hair, according to Remus, was something that was very widely discussed during his Hogwarts days. And I think he'd love it," I softly said.

Fred cradled my face in his hands and leaned down to kiss me. It was a quick but loving kiss. Fred pulled away and then looked shocked.

"What?" I asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Fred gulped, shaking his head. "I saw my reflection in your sunglasses and remembered that I forgot to put my sunblock on today. I look like a ripe tomato!"

"Well, I think there's some aloe in the hotel room. We should be getting back there, we have dinner reservations at Dionysius' Wine and Dine," I giggled.

That evening, Fred and I sat at the bar in Dionysius' Wine and Dine. I was wearing a nice pair of black jean shorts, a plain green T-shirt and sandals. Fred wore his nicest pair of khaki shorts and a plain red shirt and sneakers. He held my hand whenever the bartender would serve a Greek fire inspired drink. There would be flames racing from the bottom of the glass and up to the rim before turning into salt. I felt my heartbeat quicken at the sight of each flame, but I didn't feel as panicked as I used to.

Truthfully, I had spent my free time mastering spells and techniques to put fires out. I was now a pro at Auguamenti, and knew how to use a fire extinguisher.

We were just about to start eating dessert when somebody suddenly sat down in the seat next to me. I turned and came face-to-face with Professor Slughorn. I managed to hold back a groan, but I turned to Fred and saw that Professor Flitwick had hopped up into the bar seat next to him. Fred gave me an apologetic look as Flitwick began a conversation with him about charms, and asked his the shop was going.

"Hello Miss Black!" Slughorn greeted. He motioned for the bartender and ordered a drink that was so high in alcohol that it would be a wonder if he managed to walk out of the restaurant without any help.

"Hello Professor," I said. I wasn't really thrilled to be sitting with my old professor, especially one like Slughorn.

"Have you ever been told that you look like your father?" He asked. The bartender brought over his drink and he downed it in one gulp before signaling for another.

I shook my head. "No. I've been told I look a lot like my mother though."

"Really? Would I know her?" He asked. He already seemed to be a bit tipsy.

"No, she's not a witch."

Slughorn gave a huff of surprise. "I would've thought she was, with the talent you have!"

I frowned. "Blood doesn't equal talent."

"Oh, please don't think I'm prejudiced! That's besides the point. You know, you have your father's nose. He and his brother, Regulus, they looked a lot alike."

"Well, they were brothers," I said dryly.

Slughorn started laughing uncontrollably, even though what I said wasn't all that funny.

"Alright, well, Fred and I need to get going, our portkey leaves early tomorrow morning," I grimaced.

"Oh, don't leave on my account!"

"Our portkey is really early, Professor," Fred said, coming to my aid.

"Oh alright, but I will be paying for your bill!" Slughorn said.

"Oh, there's no need to—"

"I insist!" Slughorn said, effectively cutting me off.

"Alright, I guess. It was great seeing you, Professor Slughorn. You too, Professor Flitwick," I said. Fred said his goodbyes and together, the two of us made our way to the hotel, swinging our interlocked hands together as we walked.

Once we got to our hotel room, we packed up our belongings and organized our souvenirs. We put our pajamas on, and then just chilled on the bed. I had snuggled up into Fred's chest and he was playing with the ends of my hair.

"You know... I miss Remus," I began softly. "Losing him was blue, like I'd never known... Like, I've been sad before. I was sad when my dad died, and when Grover died. But Remus was... he was like an Uncle. He helped me, he comforted me, he knew everything about my dad and he was there for me. Missing him was dark gray, all alone... I felt so alone in those first few weeks. The world was just dark gray. I felt so, so, so alone. But then I would look into your eyes and I would feel better. You know... I once believed love would be burning red, but it's golden, like daylight. And you're golden Fred Weasley. You're my daylight. You make me feel at home. And I love you so, so much."

"You're my daylight too," Fred whispered to me. He placed a light kiss on the crown of my head and I snuggled into him even more.