Madison Potter: After the War

Chapter 3: The Point of No Returning

"The Prophet's here," George said, wrapping his arms around my middle and kissing me on the top of my head.

"Is it now? I wonder what they'll have today," I smirked.

"Probably some nonsense about some unimportant figure of the Wizarding World came back from Australia where she was helping her unimportant friend find her unimportant parents yesterday," George joked.

"Ah, how could I forget how unfortunate that reporter is, getting stuck with all the unimportant things," I joked back before slipping out of his arms and towards the table where the Daily Prophet lay.

I picked up the paper and sat down on the chair at the table in the flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"What's on the front page?" George asked me as he got a bowl of cereal for the two of us.

"Well," I said, watching him place the bowl of cereal in front of me in order to make sure that he didn't spill it. "It says they're in need of more Healers at St. Mungos since a lot of them... were victims of the war, and more information is located on page 6."

"Well let's check it out," George said before shoving a spoonful of Lucky Charms into his mouth.

"Requirements... Must have graduated from a recognized school of magic (Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ilvermorny, etc.), must have NEWTs in Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms and Potions..." I read aloud.

My face fell. It was my dream to be a Healer. Harry wanted to be an Auror and I wanted to be a Healer. We both liked helping people, but in different ways. And I couldn't do it.

"Hey, you can always go back to Hogwarts and re-do your seventh year. Or maybe you can take your NEWTs— you're a genius, so there's no reason that you wouldn't be able to do them without going back to Hogwarts," George told me.

I shook my head and pushed my uneaten cereal away from me.

"I can't go back there, there's too many memories... George I got tortured there, I got... they cut my hair, they cut me, they did everything that made me feel like shit and feel like nothing. Georgie, I can't go back. I'm not able to. And I can't just take the NEWTs off of campus... It wouldn't be fair to other people," I said.

"Well," he said, eating my uneaten cereal, "what if it's not just you who takes them off of campus? How about all of the seventh years last year take them at the Ministry or some thing? The castle's not rebuilt completely yet— Charlie told me that they have to fix the Great Hall still."

I smiled at him. "I just don't think it's that simple. I've spent the past, what, nearly eight years in this world, and ever since Hagrid came and knocked down the door to that shack in the middle of nowhere—"

"Wait, why would Hagrid have to—"

"It's a story for later, George, let me finish first. Ever since he knocked the door down to that shack, nothing has ever been simple like it was before. Back then it was just wake up in the cupboard, do chores, go to school, do more chores, go to sleep in the stupid cupboard under the stairs. Back then Harry and I weren't anything special, we were just the weird twins who lived with their aunt and uncle and cousin because our parents died. Everything was simple.

"And then Hagrid came, and suddenly Harry and I find out that our parents where killed by Lord Voldemort instead of dying in a car crash. We find out we're a witch and wizard and we go to Diagon Alley and get wands and go to Hogwarts and suddenly nothings simple anymore, because pictures move and so do the stairs and there's magic— something Uncle Vernon tried to squash out of Harry and I.

"And nothing is simple because Quirrell has Voldemort on the back of his head, and Harry and I need to fight that and we're only eleven. And nothing is simple when we're twelve, because I was possessed by Tom Riddle and all that shit went down. And once again nothing is simple when we're thirteen because Harry's godfather is an innocent convict who escaped Azkaban, my godfather is teaching Defense and there's all those fucking Dementors flying around and plot twist, Ron's rat Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew. And then we're fourteen and the whole Triwizard Tournament goes down and Voldemort returns and Cedric dies and nobody believes us. And then we're fifteen and nothing is simple because there's this secret society and everything is falling apart at Hogwarts, Umbridge is at the school and Harry and I... Harry and I are falling apart, and we can't put ourselves together, and it gets worse when Sirius dies and I try to follow him and... Now we're sixteen, and Harry and I are still falling apart, and of course nothing is simple because there's all these secrets and Voldemort is stronger and Dumbledore is... well Dumbledore is dead and we can't... we don't know what to do and we're still falling apart. And now we're seventeen and everything is burning and everything... and neither of us know what to do and when we get back together and reunite we still don't know what to do because we're falling apart. But then we know what to do, and now nothing... the entire world isn't simple.

"Harry and I have to go die and defeat Voldemort once and for all and we're still in pieces. And then we kill him, and everything is done," I said, tears running down my cheeks.

"Madison, love, come here," George said as he opened his arms. I collapsed into them and started full on crying, hiccuping and breathing unevenly. George's arms wrapped around me and I felt warm inside.

"But Harry and I are still falling apart George. Neither of us know... neither of us know how to get back up, we've never had the support of a mom and dad to help pick us up when we were younger, and we don't know how to cope. And sometimes, sometimes I think of the words Fred said to me... How I'm a coward, and how I don't know what is like to have a father... but what if we are cowards? What if Harry and I are cowards because we don't know how to ask for help and because we don't know when to ask for help. What if Harry and I are cowards for not asking for help?"

"Hey, hey, hey— Madison, listen to me. You are not a coward. Harry is not a coward. Neither of you are cowards, okay? The two of you are the bravest people I've ever met, and it's going to stay that way," he said, stroking my hair.

"How do we get back up?" I asked him, looking up at him.

George opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, there was a popping sound. I moved out of Georges arms and came face-to-face with my brother.

His eyes were red, his glasses were all smudged, his cheeks cheeks were stained with tear marks and his entire body was shaking.

"Madison..."

"Harry..."

I felt my older brother's arms wrap around me, and we cried and we cried and we did for what seemed like hours.

So, I am back!!! Updates are for sure going to be more frequent with this book. At least I hope so. 

I'm going to give you guys an update at where I am currently at in life. I'm turning 19 in less than a month. I'm almost done with my first year of college at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh (finals are next week yikes). I'm pretty old now oof. Well, that's really all I'm at in my life right now. 

Thank you for reading!