November 13, 1971
The following night, the seven of them gathered in the astronomy tower - Ginny, Hermione, Draco, James, Remus, Lily, and Sirius. The moonlight lit up the round room, and the stars in the night sky twinkled brightly.
The day had been grey and dreary, seeming to reflect the moods of the students. As the night fell, the clouds had moved away to be replaced by a clear, velvet black sky.
Ginny was the first one to speak. "This is where we first became friends," she reflected.
"Yeah.." Lily agreed, stepping up next to her. "I'll never forget the night we played truth or dare."
The room became quiet as everyone submitted to their own thoughts.
Finally, Sirius spoke up. "Hey, lets not be too depressed now, kids. I have an idea. Why don't you lovebirds engrave your names into the windowsill here?" He said this in a gentle tone, as if for once, he was trying to comfort all of them.
Hermione smiled, and replied in a quavering voice, "That's a great idea, Sirius."
Her and Remus went first. With his wand, Remus carved the words, "Remus + Hermione" into the stone of the windowsill. James and Ginny followed, leaving "James + Ginny" beside the first engraving, and Draco and Lily finished by adding "Draco + Lily" at the end of the line.
They all gathered around the window, and smiled as they looked at the names that had been carved deeply into the polished stone. Now their legacy would be preserved in Hogwarts forever.
Suddenly, Draco spoke up in a low voice. "I feel...as if I'm fading away."
"Me too," said Hermione softly. As she said these words, her edges seemed to be thinning out. Remus let out a choked sob and took her into his arms. "No, Hermione," he pleaded, "don't leave."
Hermione rested her head on his chest. "Destiny is cruel," she recited. "It had to end, Remus...it was woven into our fate." She kissed him gently on the lips.
Meanwhile, Lily was crying into Draco's shoulder. "Draco...don't go..." she whispered desperately.
"I never got to spend enough time with you, Lily," he replied in a regretful voice. "It's like it's happening all over again. But I won't lose you before I tell you the truth...I won't let that happen again. I love you, Lily."
She began to sob harder, and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I'll never forget you."
"I won't either," he replied. His voice was already beginning to sound distant. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "You'll always be with me."
At the same time, James was holding onto Ginny's hand, begging her not to leave. "Don't..." he started to say.
She gazed at him with sad eyes as her edges began to diminish as well. "I'm sorry, James. I wish I could do something about it."
He shook his head. "Don't give in, Ginny."
"I love you so much..." she murmured in response, kissing his lips one last time and imprinting every last detail of him into her soul.
"Guys," came Sirius's voice from behind them solemnly. "I think...you should step back now."
Six hearts within the room broke simultaneously as Remus, Lily, and James stepped back. Six souls wept in despair, and six pairs of eyes engraved this last image of the others into their minds forever. Hermione, Draco, and Ginny were now barely visible - only a faint, glowing outline could be seen of them.
"James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily," Ginny said, her voice barely audible now. "You four will go on to be amazing people. No matter how dark the times grow, no matter what others accuse you of...remember that you're the Marauders. Trust no one but each other, not even Peter. Stick together, and don't let anything break you apart. When it seems like there's nothing left...live for the memories that light up your heart."
With that, the three students shimmered into view for a split second, and then disappeared completely. And as the remaining four people broke down in despair, a cloud drifted across the moon and darkened the room. Shadows fell upon the tear-streaked faces of the Marauders, mimicking their emotions and thoughts.
It seemed only fitting that the shroud of sorrow that had slipped over them diminished the light of the night as well.
November 13, 1997
Ginny, Hermione, and Draco faded into view in a deserted astronomy tower. Both the girls were weeping into their hands, but Draco was filled with a remorse so great that he couldn't even cry.
"I think we're here," he mumbled.
"I wish we weren't," sobbed Ginny. She reached up to her neck to grasp her crystal, then with a start, realized it wasn't there. Her crying stopped immediately as she frantically searched her pockets for it. "Where's my crystal?" she asked out loud.
"I thought you gave it to James for the night," said Hermione with surprise. Her tears had also slowed down, and now she was looking at Ginny with concern.
"I did and...oh my God, I forgot to get it back from him." Her heart skipped a beat when the realization hit her. "I left it in the past..."
"Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry," gasped Hermione, hugging her friend. "You don't have the ingredient list with you?"
"No, James still has it," Ginny groaned. She was too distressed to even cry about it; plus, she had already used up all her tears at the parting. "What am I going to do?"
To her surprise, Draco spoke up. "I'm sorry, Ginny," he said quietly, using her first name for once.
Ginny buried her face in her hands. "As if things weren't bad enough..."
"I'm sorry too, Ginny," added Hermione. "But...you can't choose your fate. We had the fortune of going back in time and meeting some of the greatest people ever. It was too good to bring over to the future, and I guess that's the consequence."
"You're right," agreed Ginny, looking up. Her eyes were still red-rimmed from crying, but now she seemed to have calmed down. "I'm destined to die this way, and I can't expect to be saved miraculously from it. I'm being selfish by thinking I can."
"And I'm destined love and lose forever," added Draco, sighing and turning around.
Hermione smiled sadly. "It was us three who were chosen to go back for a reason. We had to learn to overcome our differences, but most importantly, we had to finally let go of the things that hold us down, to get past them and live our life to the fullest. And I think we did it."
"Hey look," interrupted Ginny. She was standing beside the arched window which looked out over the grounds. It was the same one Draco and Lily had looked out of so long ago, and it was the one underneath which the three couples had carved their names.
Draco and Hermione walked over to Ginny. Each smiled at the sight that greeted their eyes - the stone had faded over the years, but the six names were as clear and prominent as they would have been if they had been carved just hours ago. Hermione ran her fingers along Remus's name, her heart aching as she did.
"Destiny is cruel..."