[Last Kiss]

I slowly knocked on the door to Headmaster Flitwick's office, holding back the tears that were sure to come streaming down my face. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the morning, which seems an odd time to be meeting anyone anywhere, but that was why my mother and the headmaster wanted to meet then.

I knew what was behind that door, waiting for me. The future was scary, and the fact that absolutely anything could happen once I entered that room was terrifying. Taking several deep breaths, I rested against the wall behind me as I waited for the professor to let me in.

Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander for a few moments. Images of my drunk father passed out flashed through my mind, and memories of people telling me that it was the death of his older sister that had drawn him to insanity repeated themselves over and over, as if a broken record were playing inside my head.

The door to the headmaster's office swung open, revealing the little professor, who was the Charms professor up until my first year when Professor McGonagall retired and he took her position as headmaster. Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley loved him as their teacher, and always retold stories that he would tell them, like Hermione Granger correcting Ron Weasley during one of their lessons in their first year and such.

"Oh good, you're here, Miss Cassidy," he said, gesturing me inside. "Your mother and I have finished setting up; have you said your goodbyes yet?"

My goodbyes, he said, like it meant nothing. I was leaving everyone: the Weasleys, the Potters, the rest of my family forever, and all he could ask is if I had said my goodbyes yet? Not if I was okay, or if there was anything he could do to ease the anxiety and pain coursing through my veins?

Choking on a sharp sob, I shook my head. "I said goodbye to nearly everyone, but I couldn't find-"

"Me?" a voice interrupted, and my eyes snapped up to where Albus Potter was standing above me, looking down with a sad smile. His black hair was messy as usual, and his posture was slumped over the railing, ankles crossed behind him.

Nodding furiously, I ran up the small set of stairs to the balcony where he stood, wrapping my arms around his neck, burying my face into his chest. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me close to him. I never wanted to let go. His shirt smelled of broomstick cleaner, something I was always picking on him about, but now I would do anything to keep it, I would do anything to stay, to keep myself from leaving him.

But I had to. I had to let go, say my goodbyes, and step into a world I didn't know. It's for Father, I reminded myself, pulling away slowly. It's for Mother, so she doesn't have to live like this anymore.

With a heavy sigh, I pulled away. I turned to walk back down the stairs to meet my mother and Professor Flitwick to get this started, but before I could, Albus grasped my hands tightly and walked down with me, refusing to let go. I smiled at him, relieved. I knew he was going to stay right next to me, until the very end.

"Miss Bell - uh, excuse me, sorry, Miss Cassidy," Professor Flitwick stammered, accidentally calling my mother by her maiden name. "Could you go and get the timekey? Remember, don't touch it with your bare hands."

My mother coughed out a bitter laugh, before turning and leaving the office. The moment the door closed behind her, I collapsed down onto the floor, completely breaking. My hands ripped themselves from Albus' to clutch my head tightly. Curled into a ball, I sobbed on the floor, Professor Flitwick standing worriedly over me. Albus knelt down next to me and held my shoulders, pulling my hands down from my head, heaving me into his lap, where he wrapped his arms around me and held my hands on top of my lap.

"'Riah, are you alright? What's wrong?" Albus whispered. I felt him look up, and Professor Flitwick turned a bright pink before muttering that he was going to accompany my mother. He walked out with a hurry, closing the door rather quietly behind him.

I rested my head on his chest and sighed, my breaths shaky and uneven. Finally, I thought. Someone asks me how I'm feeling about all of this.

"I-It's just so much to take in, Al," I cried, tears flooding down my face, leaving sticky trails of mascara down my cheeks and pooling under my eyes, nearly gluing my eyes shut. "Everyone expects me to be so strong, but I-I'm only 16! I don't want to leave all of you guys forever, I love you all! I love Mom and Professor Flitwick and Professor Longbottom and Victoire and Teddy and your mom and dad and James and Lily and I love spending Christmas with you and-" my voice cracked, and I coughed to clear the gunk out of my throat that had collected there from crying so much, "-and I-I love you, Al, and I don't want to have to tell you to move on from me but you have to and I have to and it's just too sudden and I love you so much and willingly leaving you is so much worse than just losing you and-"

Before I could finish, Albus had pressed his lips against mine, silencing me. It wasn't rushed or urged or passionate, but soft and careful and patient, which is what I needed. Kissing him back, my heart lifted and for just a moment, right there, everything felt better.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine, and whispered softly, "Mariah, I love you too, but if you love your mother like you say you do, you have to do this for her."

Gulping, I felt my heart plummet back into my stomach. He was right, of course, but still. I had never felt such a strong determination to fight against something I had wanted to do only hours ago. But now, laying there on the floor with the one I believed I loved, I felt that I would do anything to keep myself from having to get up and go through with our plan.

Albus gently pushed me off of his lap, standing up and pulling me up with him. As he wiped the tears from under my eyes, Professor Flitwick and my mother came striding in, my mother wearing a pair of gardening gloves and holding a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Her brown hair was pulled up in her usual ponytail, and she held a somber expression on her face as she carefully placed the book on the table, opening it up to the chapter titled, "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." It had been planned so that Harry Potter arrived at the Burrow, I would as well.

I refused to look my mother in the eye, turning away and rubbing my eyes.

"So, how does this work exactly?" I heard Albus say. I sighed, closing my eyes briefly to calm myself, before turning back to where Albus was looking at my mother, a concerned look on his face.

"We've enchanted this book with some extremely advanced magic," my mother explained. "When enchanted, a book can become a timekey, which works a bit like a portkey, but also takes you through time, and not just to a specific place."

Albus nodded slowly, beginning to absorb the information. Glancing over at my boyfriend, I noted the distressed expression on his face and reached out to grab his hand. He looked over and smiled gratefully, and I could tell he was coming to terms with the fact he wouldn't ever be able to see me again from the glistening of tears in his eyes.

"Placing your hand on the first page of a chapter in the book will take you to that exact moment in the book, no matter in what realm or world," Mother continued. "For Mariah, she'll be taken to the exact moment when Harry Potter arrives at the Burrow after the Weasley's come and get him from his aunt and uncle's house.

"But, as always, there is a catch. Magic always comes with a price, and the price of using a timekey is that in your lifetime, you can only ever use one timekey. Many witches and wizards have tried to work around that magical barrier, but all attempts have failed. So once Mariah is gone, she is never coming back." As she explained, Mother's eyes began to fill with tears.

"Mariah," she turned, directing her next words to me, "I need you to understand this. You cannot tell me who you are when you meet me. I'll think you've gone insane. Do you understand me?" Her voice was so full of determination, the tears sprung back into my eyes, blurring my vision.

All I could manage out was a weak, "Yes, Mom," before rushing forward, pulling my grasp from Albus' and locking my arms around my mother. She hugged me close, and we both cried, knowing that after this, we would see each other, but it would never be the same.

So this was really the last time we would ever really see one another, ever.

She pushed my brown hair out of my face, kissing my forehead. "I love you, Mariah. And I am so proud of you. Never forget that."

"I love you too, Mom," I choked out. That was the very last kiss my mother will ever give me, I thought.

Pulling away, I wiped my tears away, forcing myself to think about what I had to do, and more importantly, why.

I'm going back in time, over 25 years back in time.

I'm going to befriend the Weasley's, Harry, and Hermione.

I'm going to save my aunt Natalia's life and keep her safe.

I'm going to restore my father's sanity and ensure that he will be a good husband to my mother and a good father to me and not become a raging alcoholic.

I'm going to live out the rest of my days 25 years in the past and move on from the life I've built here.

Taking a deep breath, I shakily approached the open book that rested on Professor Flitwick's desk. I held my hand out, ready to press my palm down on the page.

Before I could, however, I felt a strong tug on my arm, and I was reeled backwards and into Albus' arms.

"Where do you think you're going?" He joked, that sad smile on his face, tear tracks staining his face, his fluffy, black hair covering one of his bright green eyes.

Lifting my fingers carefully, I moved the hair from in front of his eyes, and just looked at him for a few moments in silence, soaking in every detail that I could, before pressing my lips against his one last time.

Afterwards, I turned away, but gripped his hand tightly, returning to Professor Flitwick's desk, where the copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire rested open, glowing slightly with a pale blue shine.

I took in another breath, beginning to imagine the words on the page being my story, not Albus' father's. On June 12, 2022, Mariah Belle Cassidy left behind the world she knew and stepped into an entirely new one, not sure what would come of her or the people around her.

Looking back, I gave Albus and my mother one last smile, to give them a happy appearance of me to be the last thing they remember before I left forever. Letting go of Albus' hand, I took my left hand and pressed it into the page of the book.

A bright white light flashed in front of my eyes, and out of the corners of that bright light crept the memory of my mother's final kiss on my forehead, and then Albus' kiss, still fresh on my lips, before vanishing and plunging me into complete and total darkness.

-

[2046 words]