An American Fangirl at Hogwarts《1》of the ☆Ink and Pixels☆ series Harry Potter

Epilogue

The sun warmed Madison's skin as she stood in the crowded courtyard. Students buzzed happily about as they discussed plans with other students and discussed ways to keep in touch over the summer. Madison and her friends had already exchanged these details so she simply stood slumped against a pillar as she watched the activity.

She stood and fiddled with her charm bracelet until she was stopped by a voice calling for her. "Madiseen! Madiseen!" She looked up to see Fleur Delacour walking towards her

"Oh, hey, Fleur," Madison said, caught off guard by the girl's sudden desire to talk to her.

"I'm so sorry about Cedreec," she said, a genuine look of sympathy in her eyes, "I know 'ow 'e cared."

"Oh, thank you. It really means a lot," Madison said, genuinely touched by how Fleur remembered her. Of course, it was probably hard to forget the girl who had a meltdown in front of the entire school.

"You were all 'e ever talked about," Fleur said, resituating her hat, "Can I write to you over the summer? From 'ow much he talked about you, I feel like we are freends alreedy."

Madison was a little stunned by her offer, but accepted the gesture and gave her permission to write to her over the summer.

"Zank you."

After Fleur left, she was joined by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Hermione quickly linked their arms together and guided her along with the group. "What was that all about?" Ron asked, nodding in Fleur's direction.

"She asked if we could write over the summer," Madison responded, glancing back into the direction of the Beauxbatons girl.

"Really? Didn't know you two were friends," Ron remarked.

"We aren't. I've never actually have a conversation with the girl until today, but she said Cedric talked about me." The trio paused to gauge Madison's reaction to saying his name as she hasn't dared utter it in the last few days.

"And she said she felt like we were friends already. He must have said a lot about me," Madison continued, not noticing the shared glances between the trio.

"Well, there's loads to tell," Hermione remarked, smiling.

"Well, he must have left out all the bits about how mad you are. If she knew half the things we knew, she would cart you off to St. Mungo's herself," Ron said with a smirk.

"Oh, but Ron I was going to do the honors," Madison replied.

"You're going to cart yourself off to St. Mungo's?" Harry asked, throwing her a quizzical look.

"Well, of course."

"You really are mad."

"Do you honestly expect anything less?"

Harry paused for a long time before finally responding with, "No."

"Didn't think so."

****

The train ride home was nothing like the train ride to Hogwarts. The arriving train was elongated by the excitement pitted in your stomach. Whereas the departing train ride was shortened by the student's dread of returning. At least that's what Madison felt. She didn't want to go home to her parents. She was sure they had all been informed of what happened and naturally they would ask if she knew Cedric. They would also question her about how Professor Moody had actually been a Death Eater in disguise all year. That, however, could be sorted out much more easily than the Cedric situation. Even after the long train ride, she still hadn't decided whether or not it was best to tell them.

If she told them she would have to classify their relationship. Were they friends? Yes. Did they have classes together? No. Were they in the same house? Yes. Does she miss him? With every fiber of her being.

She doubted her parents would jump to the conclusion they liked or even loved each other. Maybe she could avoid that, but how was she supposed to explain how much she moped around all summer over the loss of a "friend" she had only met this year? She couldn't.

But she didn't think she could say they were together either. Did they go on dates? Not officially. Did they date for a long period of time? Well, they were unofficially going steady for a week and a half. Did they kiss? No.

Without having met any of the basic criteria of being an official couple, she doubted her family would take it seriously. Madison wasn't quite sure what to make of their situation herself. Perhaps, she could try fibbing a little to help her situation. It couldn't hurt.

As the Hogwarts Express rolled into Kings Cross station, Madison gathered her things and looked out the window. She spotted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley standing on the platform as they awaited their children. When the train slowed to a complete stop, Madison got off the train and gathered the rest of her luggage. She turned to see some of her friends greeting loved ones and parents. Not wanting to interrupt their reunions, Madison left without saying goodbye.

Upon exiting the barrier of platform 9¾ she spotted her parents awaiting her arrival. Even after carefully thinking about how to handle the situation, Madison still drew a blank. But as she approached her parents she remembered the wise words of someone she held very dear to her heart. When in doubt: wing it.

A/N: Alright guys this is it. The final installment of book one in the American Fangirl at Hogwarts series. I will immediately begin diligent work on book two and hopefully have that up for you guys soon. I would like to thank everyone who read this story and enjoyed it. Writing this has been quite a journey and for the last six months this story has been my baby and I am still in disbelief that I have finished. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and feel free to comment or message what you think because, as I always say, feedback is appreciated and so are you! Thank you all so much! Love ya! 💛💙❤💚