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“Where are we going, MC?” asked Penny curiously. She was holding his hand — their fingers intertwined, as they trailed through the vast trees of the forest by Kenneth’s family house. She was wearing a beautiful knee-length yellow summer dress and wearing his Panama hat that he let her take.
“You will see soon enough, love,” he answered back. “I want it to be even more special.”
“Ooh, I’m so excited!” exclaimed Penny. She was smiling lovingly at Kenneth.
Eight years had passed since they both graduated from Hogwarts. Before that, we had spent our Hogwarts years spending a sad, arduous amount of our time searching for the Cursed Vaults that were rumoured to exist in Hogwarts. My brother, Jacob, searched for them and trying to prove they exist. As a result for his endangerment of the school, he was expelled.
Since I began attending Hogwarts and thanks to the actions of my brother, I was the subject of dislike and apprehension that made it difficult to make friends. I had to endure countless bullying from other houses — including my own house and isolation. Everyone called me a ‘cursed child’, or ‘Jacob’s sibling’. Rowan, my best friend who gave his life to save Ben, stuck by me through thick and thin in those years.
Penny Haywood, the most popular student and girl in our year became another of my best friends. I will admit, I was apprehensive of her initially because of her popularity. What would a popular and pretty girl want to do with someone as infamous as myself. My fear was that she had an ulterior motive and was going to use me for her own ends. I learned quickly that I was wrong, and I admired her immediately because of her kindness, compassion and optimism. She, like Rowan, accepted me for who I was and stood by me through it all.
I had a huge crush on her, but hid it from her and everyone else. It wasn’t until I asked her to be my date at the Celestial Ball that my feelings for her were deepening more and more. I took up the courage to ask her out on a date, and she said yes.
Forwarding into our fifth year, she had become the eye of many admirers. Unlike the other girls that were starting to mature, she blossomed like a flower and many sought to ask her out on a date. She politely declined each one. I confessed to her that I fancied her. She was taken aback by the confession, but because of her concern for her sister Beatrice being stuck in a portrait, she agreed to talk about it after Beatrice was free. We never talked about it until the end of our sixth year. Just as we left for the summer, she took me aside and said “I fancy you, too.”
By the time seventh year began, our feelings for each other had blossomed from crush, fascination, infatuation to love. We spent as much time as we could together, and it worked even better because she and I were Heads of our houses.
Sadly, were forced to go our separate ways once we graduated because of our career choices. I went on to become a world-famous curse breaker around the world, while Penny had made a career for herself inventing new potions that made her a fortune. She toured the schools around the world as a guest lecturer. What brought us back into each other’s lives was the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. After Voldemort gave us an hour of ceasefire, I found the beautiful blonde woman in the Great Hall, sitting and crying by the side of our fallen friends. My heart sank when I found the bodies of Tonks and Fred Weasley among the fallen. I placed a hand on Penny’s shoulder, she turned her head and saw that it was me; battle weary and tear filled eyes. She immediately stood up and pulled me into the tightest embrace I ever felt from her.
“Oh, MC,” she cried into my chest, holding on tight fearing that she’d lose me.
“Shh,” I said, trying to keep my composure, but failing. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t lose you again.”
The second half of the battle began, and it took place in the Great Hall. Penny and I were separated, and I was battling numerous Death Eaters when I noticed the stunning blonde fighting and throwing vials of potions like grenades against the Death Eaters that were attacking the students. A Death Eater had sneaked up behind her and cast the Killing Curse at her. She had missed death by an inch. Seething with rage, I sneaked up behind the Death Eater, tapped their shoulder for them to turn around and plunged my fist straight into their face, knocking them out cold. Penny looked at me with a blank stare, tears poured out of her eyes and pulled me into her face and pressed her soft warm lips against mine.
“MC, where have you been?” she said to me, through multiple kisses. “Don’t leave me again.”
“That’s my line,” I said through kisses of my own. “There’s something I wanted to ask you. But not now. Later once this is over.”
“You promise?” she asked, fearing she’d never see me again.
“I promise.” Kissing her one more time. We turned our backs against each other and pressed them on one another to make sure we were still together. That was until we were blasted apart by the appearance of two Death Eaters. Penny hit a stone column and knocked out.
I fought two Death Eaters at once. Something felt familiar about them as soon as I knocked the hoods off of them. They were a middle-aged man and woman. Both of them had messy hair. The man had an arrogant smirk on his face with messy brown hair and violet eyes. The woman had red hair and a devilish look about her and blue eyes. I immediately realized I was duelling Merula’s parents.
I told Merula two years earlier when the Death Eaters had escaped Azkaban that she would have to make a choice one day: suffer the same fate as her parents or become something more. Her parents disarmed me from my hesitation and held me in bounds.
“Oh sweety,” called the woman. Merula appeared from the battle, dressed in Death Eater robes. I looked at her with anger and sadness. “This is the boy that made your life miserable at Hogwarts all these years?”
Merula nodded.
“Well, now that he’s ours” said Mr. Snyde, levitating me. “Will you do the honor of killing him?”
Merula looked at MC. Revulsion and hatred etched on her face. She raised her wand and pointed it at me.
“Remember what I said, Merula,” I said. “Remember that I told you one day you would have to make a choice.”
“Silence!” yelled Mrs. Snyde. “Crucio!”
I felt a thousand hot knives piercing every bit of my skin and I screamed the hardest I’ve ever screamed in my life. The pain subsided.
“Now, Merula,” said Mrs. Snyde. “Kill him.”
Merula still had her wand pointed at me. I could see a tear in her eye. She screamed, “Depulso,” and whipped around to point her wand at her mother, which, sent the latter flying into the pillars with a hard crunch.
Mr. Snyde’s mouth opened and his eyes were wide with shock. His distraction released me from my bounds and without my wand nearby I immediately rammed my fist into Mr. Snyde’s stomach before throwing my knee into the chin for good measure.
“Thank you, Merula,” I said picking up my wand.
Merula merely shrugged. “This is the last time we will see each other, MC. Farewell.”
I pulled her into a hug.
“This is not the last time because,” I said. I released her from my embrace. I gave her a note. “I want you to be there at that time and that place. And wear something formal, like your Celestial Ball dress from years ago.”
“Why?” asked Merula, taking the note, opening it up and reading it. Her eyes steadily widened as she read. “Is this some sort of jest?”
“No,” I said. “Will you--” I whispered the last part of my question in her ear. The question made Merula’s eyes widened and her pale face flushed pink.
Merula thought for a moment.
“I’ll think about it,” she answered. “I better leave before my parents wake up. See you, MC.”
“Take care, Merula, and thanks again.”
She gave a curt nod and ran out of the Great Hall.
I rushed immediately to Penny’s side and performed healing spells on her. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against hers, hoping she’d wake up. Moments later, I felt a soft warm hand press gently against my cheek. Penny’s forehead lifted up higher, and I felt her soft, warm lips find mine. I kissed her back with love. She didn’t appear to be seriously injured. We pulled back to gaze into each other’s eyes. I smiled, relieved that she was all right. She smiled back at me.
“We’re alive,” Penny. “I thought I lost you.”
“Never,” I said, pulling her into a loving embrace. “It looks like it’s up to Harry and the Dark Lord.”
Once Harry Potter had defeated Voldemort and all the mess was cleaned up, I found Bill, Charlie, George, Percy and their family mourning Fred. I punched Percy in the face as punishment turning his back on his family. We mourned the deaths of Barnaby and Ben.
“MC? MC?”
“Huh? What?”
Penny was looking at me with mild concern and amusement. We were back in the forest.
“Sorry, Penny,” I said. “I was just thinking about the Battle. I can’t believe it’s over now.”
Penny smiled sadly while she squeezed my hand gently.
“I’m happy that Merula turned over a new leaf,” she said.
“If it wasn’t for her,” I said, “I wouldn’t be here right now. I owe her.”
“Hopefully not this,” said Penny, pulling me into a kiss.
“Definitely not. We’re here.”
We had arrived at a giant, ancient tree towering like a skyscraper. Its trunk was large enough to fit a car through it.
“Wow,” said Penny in amazement looking up at the tree. “What is it?”
“A redwood,” I answered. “My father took a seed when he was in America and planted it here. He enchanted it to make it grow faster.”
“I’m sorry I never met him,” she said, sadly.
“He died for what he believed in. A better world.”
My father was killed two years prior when he refused to give Death Eaters the names and locations of Phoenix members.
I let go of Penny’s hand, pull out my wand and approach the base of the tree. Finding the familiar knot, I tap it with my wand and then step back. The base of the tree base pushes inwards and slides up like a sliding door. I turn to Penny and lift up my hand. She smiles and takes it as we enter the tree. There was a tunnel inside the tree, and we followed it quietly. We then reached the end of the tunnel and there were a set of rocks shaped into stairs that led up.
I climbed the rock stairs first and tap the ceiling with my wand. The part that I tapped turned out to be a giant rock, and it opens upwards like a trapdoor. I climb out and extend my hand for Penny to take again.
“This is it,” I said, “we’re here. Welcome, Miss Haywood.”
Adjusting herself, Penny looks around and her jaw immediately dropped. She was looking at the enchanted forest that my parents took me to see just before starting my first year at Hogwarts. Not much had changed since I was last here. The stream that had a small waterfall was still there. The surrounding trees were full of giant white fungi, and they seemed to vibrate on their own accord. The familiar large tree with hollowed out roots hadn’t changed either. The creatures flying around the tree and out of the roots that had caused Penny to gasp.
“Fairies!” Penny said breathlessly. She had seen fairies before at the Magical Creatures Reserve, but these ones glowed brighter. She turned to me and I merely smiled at her.
“These are a very rare species of fairies that few ever see,” I said, proudly. “They are actually the only species of fairy that have fairy dust.”
“Fairy dust?” Penny asked. Her eyes widened. “The ones like in Peter Pan?”
“Yes,” I said. “They won’t give it away willingly, but these ones are special.”
“How?”
“My mum rescued them before I was born, she took part in a number of task forces to raid homes that housed endangered magical creatures. Theres were in a dark wizard’s hideout about to be sold to the black market. She managed to save them during a raid and convinced their leader to find a new place for them to live in peace and harmony.”
“Was it difficult?” Penny asks.
“From what she said, yes,” I said. “She said it took three weeks for him to finally accept her help and my dad discovered this place before it was like this. He made sure it was deep in a forest that they couldn’t be found by Muggles, and in a secret hideout that wizards wouldn’t be able to find either.”
“Before?” Penny asks.
“I asked that exact same question. He created this landscape to suit their preference. It was also the place...”
“The ‘place’?”
“Nothing,” I said blushing. “Never mind. I wanted to show you this place on the night of the summer solstice.”
“It’s beautiful, MC,” sighed Penny. She hugged me tightly. “Thank you for showing me.”
“And that’s not the best part,” I said, rubbing my fingers through her shiny golden hair. I then checked my watch. “We’re right on time.”
“On time?” asked Penny, pulling out of her hug.
“Look.”
The sun had completely set and the night had begun. The moment the sun had set, the fungi on the trees began to grow larger and began to glow. Some glowed a bright green, others blue, red, lilac, pink, orange and yellow. It was a marvel to behold. As soon as the mushrooms glowed, the fairies glowed brighter and began to sing. The sound the fairies made caused a shiver to run down my spine again. I found the familiar large tree stump that I witnessed my parents waltz to. I sat down and gestured Penny to sit with me. She sat down happily.
I pointed towards the tree and a familiar large fairy approached us. The fairy had grown slightly larger in girth since I last saw him, but his thick beard remained the same. He looked at me curiously. His eyes widened when he recognized my face and eyes. I stood up and stuck out my hand, and he landed on my palm. He was lighter than he looked.
I immediately bowed my head to him, and he responded with a bow in kind. The fairy king looked at Penny and his gaze softened at her. He bowed to her, and she responded with a formal curtsy. The king then flew above our heads and spun like a fan. His spinning caused light particles to come off of him, and it sprinkled down on us. I felt warmth from my head, and it travelled all the way to my feet. I bowed again and the king moved towards the tree and disappeared inside.
“What did he do?” asked Penny, looking at the particles that touched her.
“Jump and you’ll see,” I said, smiling at her. “He likes you, by the way.”
“He’s quite the gentleman,” cooed Penny. “Jump?”
“Jump,” I repeated.
Penny shrugged and jumped.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed. She was hovering a few feet off the ground. “I can fly?!”
“He gave us some fairy dust.”
I jumped to join her.
“You can control where you go,” I explained. “It’s just like walking. I’ll demonstrate.”
I looked up and floated higher. Feeling mischievous, I spun in circles like a figure skater. I could hear Penny giggle, and she floated towards me, mimicking me. We floated back down to sit on the stump again.
“Look, Penny,” I said pointing towards the tree.
Penny looked to see that the fairy king had returned with another fairy with a twirling dress. She bowed to us and took the fairy king’s hands, and they began to dance. All of a sudden the surrounding fairies followed suit and began to dance as well. The singing became louder and more rich in texture. Some fairies had small instruments and played music in accompaniment with the singing. It was a marvellous spectacle. I felt Penny’s head rest on my shoulder, and she was smiling lovingly at the spectacle before her.
I got to my feet and turned to Penny.
“Would you honor me with a dance, m’lady?” I asked as gentlemanly as I could, holding out my hand and the other behind my back.
Penny blushed a deep shade of pink and looked at me with a smile.
“It would be my pleasure, m’lord” she said, taking my hand.
Penny took her free hand and placed it on my shoulder. I took my free hand and placed it on her hip, and we began to waltz slowly in circles.
“You’ve definitely improved since our dance at the Celestial Ball all those years ago,” teased Penny.
“Well I have to thank Mertle for that,” I said bashfully. “And I practiced with a broom whenever I could get the chance.”
Penny giggled.
“It paid off.”
“And it keeps getting better.”
Without asking for her permission, I jumped and pulled her with me into the air. She didn’t react. She looked happy that I made the decision. We gazed deep into each other’s eyes as we waltzed, never taking them off of one another.
We waltzed professionally and then it became more intimate. Penny then pulled herself into me, resting her head on my chest again, and she closed her eyes with content. I rested my chin on her head and closed my eyes as we drifted in the air in circles.
As the singing and the music started to quiet down, I made us float back down and felt the ground under our feet. Penny opened her eyes and looked up at me again as I released her from my grip.
“Ken?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. My blush was giving myself away. “All right, here goes nothing. Penny, you remember during the Battle that I wanted to ask you something?”
“Yes?” she said hesitantly, trying to remember. “Oh yes, I remember.”
“Well this is what I wanted to ask. But before I do...” I whistled sharply towards the fairies. Penny’s headshot up towards the fairies.
Understanding the cue, they immediately flew towards the coloured mushrooms and spun in fast unison. Fairy dust landed on the mushrooms and the mushrooms doubled in size, adding more light to the darkness. Penny gazed in awe at the spectacle. She looked back at me and she gasped immediately. Her hands covering her mouth, her brilliant sapphire blue eyes were now half-blinded by tears.
What she saw was me down on one knee, a small yellow velvet box in my hand opened to reveal a sapphire diamond ring made of goblin steel, standing erect on the soft black velvet inner centre that shined brightly with iridescence.
“Penelope Jane Haywood,” I said, with an emotional smile, “will you marry me?”