Chapter 40

It was a day of disbelief for Bea, for the girl who could hardly speak on the train just last year and now she was smiling so brightly with nothing but happiness inside of her, and she was sure she could feel the happiness around her.

It was as if such happiness could only be brought together with everyone she knew. She found herself reflecting most of the time...found herself thinking of her friends and her year and how completely and totally in love with James Potter she was.

She hardly knew what she would do without her friends, but she had realised that as much as her friends had played a part in who she was...she didn't need them to grow. Of course, she needed them to be there because they were a part of her happiness, but they weren't the reason she was able to cure herself.

She wasn't sick in the first place, she wasn't different or wrong or abnormal...she was sad and unhappy and terrified for rightful reasons, but she had grown above that - she had brought herself back and grown past everything because she could.

She wasn't the girl she was last year, but she still lived inside of her and Bea would always be kind, she couldn't not be kind, it was just who she was. She hated the thought of being unkind because there was no reason to be mean.

It was draining to be mean, she would never go out of her way to be mean to someone who didn't deserve it, but she had grown and learned that it wasn't mean to be unkind to those who did deserve it - that sometimes killing people with kindness can only go so far and sometimes she had to use different ways in order to get it through to people that she wasn't going to let them walk all over her.

She knew that in previous years, people took advantage of her for her kindness. They walked over her and used it to their own benefit because they could, and she wouldn't stop them...she would let them walk all over her as she didn't do anything to stop it.

But it wasn't like that now, she wasn't like that now - she couldn't be. She had grown far too much to never let anyone walk over her and she had a goal in life apart from her future. She had a goal to travel the world, a realistic goal that she would work towards.

But a war was looming, and no matter how much she wanted to ignore it and sometimes she selfishly did ignore it, she would fight as much as she could. She would slaughter anyone who got in her way, who tried to hold her back and during that war she had set herself another goal.

She would kill the man who stripped her of her happiness, from her most defining feature for a year, for too long a time because he wanted to, and she couldn't stop him. She had the scars, the wounds and the injustice and she would go after him if it was the last thing she ever did.

And she would watch the life drain from his eyes with happiness in her own.

"Well, Gerald," she sighed, clapping her hands and turning to her Bowtruckle, "I think we have everything."

She looked around her room.

She had one last thing she had to do before she would take her trunk to the courtyard, and she had to get Gerald ready too. James was sure it wasn't fair that whenever he couldn't sleep over in her room, that he should at least get Gerald, but she didn't exactly like that idea.

"If I can't have both of my boys, I get at least one of them," she frowned, head tilted, "since when don't you sleep with me?"

Of course, at her words, Sirius thought it wise to shout his crude words and before Bea could even think to flip him off or shout at him - Remus bet her to it, smacking him upside the head and ranting to him that he was being an arse.

Sirius only smirked.

"You're going to get to arrange a brand-new tree!" she grinned. Considering she wasn't yet seventeen, only a year between her and her freedom to do magic wherever she pleased, she had begged Remus to learn the spell - teaching him until he perfected it in order to grow the tree very quickly for Gerald to love during summer.

She was very excited, and the little creature had grown fond of all of her friends when she had begged them to give him a peace offering ranging between fairy eggs and woodlice.

"You know," Beau said, rolling over on her bed to stare at her, "I am here too, you can talk to me."

"Oh, is baby Beau jealous because I'm ignoring him?" Bea teased, over exaggeratedly pouting in his direction whilst he flipped her off, muttering about her being mean and soon leaning up.

"You've known me longer than Gerald, it's unfair," he huffed but she shook her head.

"I've actually known Gerald longer, Beau, but I still love you don't worry," she grinned brightly, wandering over to him and throwing her arms around him tightly, "I told you about the beach trip, right?"

"Yes...five times I think it is," he said, "maybe six, I'm not fully sure."

"Oh shush, but I want to spend time just us during summer," she said, leaning her head on his arm, "you were my best friend before you were all theirs and I know that doesn't mean much because we are all best friends, but I still want time with you for myself."

"What do you think we could do?" he asked, leaning his head on hers, "and If you suggest shopping-"

"Don't worry, Sirius, Vi and Lily and I have all arranged for a shopping trip anyway. I was thinking we could go on an adventure, maybe get the train somewhere," she shrugged her shoulders, "just something fun so that summer isn't boring, and we haven't spent it apart for the full time."

"That sounds brilliant," he nodded, a grin on his lips, "you know...if you have room for one more on that shopping trip-"

"Merlin, Beau," she cut him off, "I can't believe you haven't fucking asked her out yet."

"Look," he said, lifting his head up, "she's just...you know I like her."

"I know! you're head over heels for her, so if you're not with her by this years Christmas I will lock you two in a room until you admit your feelings!" she warned, standing up, "she's head over heels for you, too! I don't see the big deal."

"How did you and James admit you liked each other?"

"...Well," she trailed off, "I said I'd rather kiss him than Sirius whilst I sat on the desk of an empty classroom. I then got embarrassed cause I said that, admitted that it wasn't a lie and then we made out. Course it wasn't as simple as that considering Remus was being an arse at the time - oh! Did you know that Remus and Vi used to go out?"

"You're kidding?" Beau snorted.

"Cross my heart. Both idiots," she shook her head, "last year was wild."

"It seems like it. Anyway! We need to go, our friends are waiting," he stood from her bed and she moved with him, stopping near her door for Gerald to scurry up to her hair. She was used to having messy hair, and ever since she got Gerald, the little creature was so set on building a new nest every time he could.

"What did you want us for, Bea?" asked Lily as she and Beau entered the Hufflepuff common room. She had asked her friends to meet them there, with only James and Remus - as well as Beau - knowing how to actually enter the common room and the others having to look away for secrecy.

"I need to show you all something. It's something important," she grinned, hurrying to her friends and pulling on James' hand.

It was a sight to see them all walking down the hall, none of them had realised that there was quite a lot of them - they were all just best friends and that's how they saw it, it didn't matter how much of them there was, just that they all had each other.

That was what was most important.

Lily had moved to Beau's side, linking her arm around his and grinning up at him when he turned to look at her with raised brows, "what's this about, I'm sure you know?"

Beau smirked, pulling her closer to him with his arm linked with hers and soon sent her a wink, "Miss Evans you will find out soon enough."

"Yes, but is it good or bad?!"

"It is incredible," he trailed off, pulling his arm from hers and soon wrapping it around her. It was a friendly gesture, of course, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as they walked, grinned and laughing with their friends.

Bea took a deep breath when they arrived at the art gallery. Her friends had seen it, most of them anyway - but not like she was going to show them. Of course, they knew what she had been working on, but she would make sure they couldn't see the full extent of her work.

The work she did when she was so distraught she could hardly leave the room without feeling terrified, but it was different and with a grin - she opened the door.

To reveal every single flower on the wall...all of which had bloomed.

The long vines had travelled around the room, on every wall and even the ceiling and Remus - as well as James - didn't even want to know the risk she put herself in to paint so high, but they were hardly thinking of that.

They were all so in awe.

In awe of the flowers of many kinds, and Lily and Violet had gotten excited - squealing over the many flowers painted of which they shared the name of. Peter had squeaked out a gasp, almost falling into the table behind him, he had been in there only months previous, but it was nothing like this.

Even Beau, who had been in there almost every day hadn't seen it looking so incredible.

The flowers on every wall bloomed proudly with little bees buzzing and fluttering around them and gaining the painted nectar as though they were real - as though they had feelings and lived a life as a real Bee.

It was incredible.

It was colourful and wonderful, and Bea was grinning from ear to ear to see every flower bloomed - because it was her happiness.

It was her on that wall defined by what she loved most. With Bees floating everywhere and long green twisted vines and the brightest most colourful flowers, it was her.

It was all her, and she was happy.

She could feel herself warming, and she would always be growing but her happiness was there, and it was so evident.

James moved at the sight of her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pressing the softest kiss to her cheek and she smiled so widely.

"You are amazing," Bertie spoke up, glancing at the grinning Bea and smiling back wider if that was even possible, she wasn't sure.

James was gripping her so tightly that she couldn't help her laughter, he was so proud of her - and so in love with her that he wasn't sure he could possibly say just how much, but it was there, and he was in a pure state of euphoria just knowing that she was his and he was hers.

"So..." James trailed off, gaining the attention of their friends, "what is the name of your masterpiece?"

She looked around the room, she hadn't even thought of the idea of naming it - of naming the room and the wall and all she had created, but with a sigh and a smile of utter content, she whispered,

"Bloom again."

❁

The end.