It was Professor Snape who found Sarah first. She hardly noticed, crouched as she was over Professor Aldbar, whispering to herself. "Harry Potter survived it, and he was just a baby; it's possible; you can survive it too."

Snape knelt beside her and it was the oddity of him wearing Muggle jeans that finally arrested her attention. She tore her gaze from Aldbar's sightless eyes and stared in a dull stupor at Snape in a button down and a crooked black leather coat. His features were somehow softer, even in the dark shadows of her house. He looked at her as though he cared, but with pity.

He looked at her the way her father had when he told her Mum was dead.

"A baby can survive the Killing Curse," she insisted with all the certainty of an 11-year-old girl. She sniffed to clear her nose – her words sounded strange – and asked in confusion, "Why can't Professor Aldbar?"

Snape rested his wand gently on Aldbar's forehead, whispering a spell Sarah didn't know. A soft yellow light flickered from the end of his wand, moving over Aldbar's body — Aldbar — like one of those scanners at the supermarket. Snape's shoulders fell, and Sarah sniffed again. "No," she said.

"I'm sorry," Snape murmured. "He's gone."

"But he— he's a hero! He saved me! He can't— he can't be — He can't!" Sarah pushed Snape's shoulder angrily. "Do something! You said you could put a stopper in death, didn't you?"

And Professor Snape wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her. "Not forever," he said. "And he did save you. That would have meant a lot to him."

To the grizzled old Auror… oh yes, it would have.

Sarah sniffled, turning her head into his chest. A button dug into her cheek and she didn't care. She listened to the flames still crackling around them, felt her fingers digging into her wand. She thought of everything that had happened to bring her here, all the little things from just after her eleventh birthday to now.

It had all started so wonderfully…

"How did you get here?" she wondered suddenly.

"I saw the Mark over your house," said Snape. "I worried—" He broke off and held her closer. "I'm glad you are all right."

Sarah sniffed, adjusting her position. "I cast it," she said quietly. "I remembered how angry you were at Lockhart."

Snape was quiet for a moment. "Clever girl," he murmured at last. He drew back and sighed heavily. "I must tell Albus. We had hoped the jinx didn't—" Again he broke off. He raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum," he whispered. A silvery white light eased out of his wand before fading away. "Damn it. Expecto Patronum!" This time the white mist coalesced into the form of a wildcat.

Snape stared at it for a long moment.

Sarah watched the silver form of the cat cock its head and lash its short tail from side to side. "What spell is that?" When Snape did not answer, she looked up at him. He seemed to be sad, as though the wildcat had stolen something precious from him.

He clenched his teeth and then flicked his wand. "Williams residence, come quickly," he said. The wildcat shook itself and bounded off. "How many times will I lose you?" he said to himself.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.

Snape nodded once, harshly. "I'm fine. Let's deal with these flames." He stood and set about dousing the fire, removing the Dark Mark as it still cast its green glow over everything, and flicking the lights on.

Sarah watched everything in a dull stupor. When Dumbledore arrived with McGonagall, she felt numb. The older witch bundled her into a blanket and bustled about preparing tea. She heard Dumbledore and Snape conversing in low tones in the hallway.

"Aldbar must have seen the Mark first," Dumbledore reasoned. "We are fortunate he was able to defeat Avery."

Defeat Avery?

Sarah's brow wrinkled.

"It must have been the last thing he did," said Snape. "They appear to have taken out each other."

Sarah opened her mouth to correct them and stopped. She remembered the chaos of everyone learning about Linda, and the harsh treatment of Hogwarts rumors.

"Poor Janus," Dumbledore said. "And Julius, of course."

Sarah gasped. Janus Avery. How could she tell him that she'd killed his father? He was her friend! She couldn't—

McGonagall set a steaming cup of tea in front of her. "There you go, lass. Everything will be all right."

Sarah wrapped her hands around the cup and watched the steam rise in mesmerizing swirls.

Yes, she decided. Everything is going to be fine.

A/N: Well then. It's been over a year since I started posting this story, and I have learned a lot about my ability to regularly post chapters - I have no such ability. But I HAVE stayed with it, and it has been so rewarding. I can't wait to get into the rest of Sarah's story. I know a lot of people (myself included, honestly) are eagerly waiting for Jareth and Sarah to interact, and I think I'm going to have a blast posting her Labyrinth. But first, I'm going to do the next three years, except they'll be in all one fic instead of three separate stories. I'll probably drabble my way through most of them? I haven't really written anything for it at all yet, but I have a couple ideas. Obviously the sub-plot of the truth of Avery's death is going to be a big one, and I am probably going to indulge myself by having Loki Odinson be a DADA teacher for one of those years. Haven't figured out the logistics of that one yet, but knowing me it'll happen.

Speaking of logistics, if anyone has any ideas for the next three years of Hogwarts, I would be more than happy to hear them. I have only a vague idea of something about the Trace and how it wasn't active over Sarah, and some Ministry employee is trying to figure this out. I want Jane Foster to take over the Astronomy position (hence having Loki Silver be her academic rival because honestly the man needs punched in his pretty face more often) for a couple years before Aurora Sinistra joins the Hogwarts staff.

I've got to get Sarah to the point where she wishes away Toby shortly after her fifteenth birthday. This means some sub-plots with Irene and Robert. And it occurred to me that Sarah's going to have such a strong negative reaction to the trauma of Aldbar's death that she's going to change from that alone. She's going to consider herself above all her peers, and I'm going to build on that.

also, next year? Bill Weasley attends Hogwarts. So there will be a connection to the Order, even though Sarah won't know it for years.

Anyway. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who read this, a thousand thank yous to everyone who reviewed and commented - and I will be bringing Jareth into the story, never fear, it's just going to take a while. Again, I won't abandon this universe, but in all honesty I update at the approximate speed of a glacier so. There's that.

See you later!